Planet Pookie

Breaking News: Kwik Karry Closes

2012-01-28T08:18:00.002-05:00

This is huge.

This is big....

.... Real Big....

Kwik Karry Restaurant closed its doors today.

I've been getting "My Usual" there for 20 years.

What the world?

Remember when we saw Santa there!?

Remember when the Cafe' came to town? Even that didn't shut the Kwik Karry down, in fact, the Cafe' closed already.

Remember the back and forth smoking/no-smoking issues? And our side won?

Remember when I found the Kwik Karry of Louisiana?

Not familiar with the Kwik Karry?

What is your Kwik Karry experience?

The Swiss Chalet Music Box

2012-01-27T03:18:00.002-05:00

This Swiss chalet music box sat on my grandmother's coffee table in the very center of her living room for my entire childhood and it was moved up higher on a shelf during my teenage years when we moved to NC. It now resides on an upper shelf in my office as Nana has relocated once again, in Heaven, this time without me, leaving this Swis Alp cottage long behind.

When I was a child and this resided in Gram's living room, it elicited in me a desire to travel, to see where people might live in a house like this. What would those people look like? How might they dress?

Many years later, I found one as I walked down a country lane in Freilassing, Germany, the town of my grandmother's long lost cousin:

When I was a teenager, this Swiss chalet music box spoke to me of a distant cousin of my grandmother who lived in a village of cottages just like this one. Cousin Barb. My grandmother's Cousin Barb lived in a cottage like this in a country an ocean away. Cousin Barb, I imagined, was a gray haired older woman much like my grandma; two cousins living identical lives in very different environments.

Later I learned of their relationship. Much, much later as I visited Europe, I had a train stop in Cousin Barb's town. She had me in for tea and told me all about her and my Gram's relationship -- how they had grown up together, looked for boyfriends together, married and went separate ways. She told me how everyone thought she was crazy to leave the country to do mission work. Cousin Barb often sent Gram little things from Germany that were meant to pull Gram's heart towards her. An apron....ceramics.... a Swiss Chalet music box.

Isn't it funny how we traverse through life. The ironies. The little things that form a thread throughout an entire life. The separated cousins. The toy-like chalet I loved. My chance encounter from an unplanned train stop. It all came together and now this little Swiss chalet on my bookshelf is the keeper of so many memories, secrets even. It doesn't look like much, but oh how it is.

The Front Porch

2012-01-25T02:18:00.004-05:00

She wondered who the architect was who had first understood that basic human need to have a place, a moment, to pause before entering, to shift from the person you were outside to the one you would become when you walked through the door.

~ From Joy for Beginners, by Erica Bauermeister

That's my daughter, Marjorie in the above picture taken while we were out west in the abandoned town of Bodie. I've always loved that paragraph from Bauermeister's book and thought it went well with this photo of Marj. I've had so many of those moments on my own front porch. Can you relate?

Liver Gallbladder Cleanse

2012-01-24T02:18:00.001-05:00

Today's Tasty Tuesday recipe isn't so tasty. In fact, it's quite un-tasty.
But your liver and gallbladder will love you for it and you'll feel much better all around.

Cleansing your liver of gallstones will dramatically improve your digestion. Often when the gallbladder is scanned, nothing is seen, as was my case. But the abdominal discomfort and pain remained. Many gallstones are too little to be caught on x-ray or simply are not in the gallbladder and instead are hidden in the biliary tubing.

With gallstones, much less cholesterol leaves the body and much more bacteria and parasites stay in the body.

Since I found great relief by doing this cleanse, many of you have asked for the recipe......
Natural health practitioners advise you to do this cleanse once or twice a year. When you have painful sypmtoms, as I had, you can do the cleanse once and then again in two weeks.

Pre-Cleanse Procedure:

Consume 8 oz.organic apple juice morning and night only for one week prior to cleanse. This clears the perkuffer cells of the liver and tends to reduce and soften gallstones. You should also remove fatty/fried and junk food from your diet this week.

Things you need for the cleanse:

Epsom Salts 4 Tbsp.
Olive Oil (Virgin Only) 3/4 cup
Fresh Pink Grapefruit 1 large or 2 small, enough to squeeze 3/4 c juice
OR lemons
1 large plastic straw (I used a regular sized straw just fine)
Pint jar with lid To mix and shake olive oil and grapefruit juice

Procedure:

Choose a day like Saturday for the cleanse, since you will be able to rest the next day and stay close to the toilet.

Take no medicine, vitamins or pills that you can do without; they could prevent success.

The Day of the Cleanse:

Eat a no-fat breakfast and lunch such as cooked cereal or fruit, fruit juice, bread and preserves or honey (no butter or milk), baked potato or other vegies with salt only. (Celtic Sea Salt)

2:00 PM -- Do not eat or drink after 2:00

Get your epsom salts ready. Mix 4 Tbsp in 3 cups of water and pour this into a quart jar. This makes 4 servings, 3/4 cup each. (I had one serving leftover that I didn't use. Not sure why this recipe calls for 4 servings) Put the jar into the fridge to get ice cold. (this is for convenience and taste only) Make certain that all salts are completely dissolved.

6:00 PM - Drink 1 serving (3/4 cup) of the ice cold epsom salts. This is pretty horrible tasting, it has a very chemical taste to it. You may add 1/8 tsp. of Vitamin C powder to taste. You may also drink a few mouthfuls of water afterwards to rinse mouth. Long about 7:30, you will probably start needing to visit the toilet.

8:00 PM - Repeat by drinking another cup of Epsom salts. You haven't eaten since 2:00, but you won't feel hungry (unless your husband, like mine, was cooking ribs and steak at the time). Get your bedtime chores done, the timing is critical for success -- don't be more than ten minutes early or late.

9:45 PM - Pour 3/4 cup of olive oil into the pint jar. Squeeze the grapefruit or lemon into the measuring cup. Add this to the olive oil. Close the jar tightly with the lid and shake hard until watery. Now visit the bathroom one or more times, even if it makes you late for your 10:00 drink. Don't be more than 15 minutes late though.
(If at this time you have NOT had results from the Epsom Salts, then I suggest to abort mission. You may try again the next night starting over with the 2:00 instructions)

10:00 PM - Drink the concoction you have mixed. Drinking through a straw will help it go down easier. Take it to your bedside, but drink it standing up. Get it down in 5 minutes. LIE DOWN IMMEDIATELY! You may fail to get the stones out if you don't. The sooner you lie down, the more stones you will get out. Be ready for bed ahead of time. As soon as the drink is down, lie flat on your back with your head high on the pillow. Try to keep perfectly still for at least 20 minutes. You may feel a train of stones traveling along your bile ducts like marbles. There is no pain because the bile ducts are open (thank you, Epsom salts!)

Go to sleep.

Next morning, upon waking, take your third dose of epsom salts. Drink 3/4 cup of the mixture. You may go back to bed. Sometime after you get up again, you will need to visit the toilet some more.

After two hours - you may eat. Start with juice. Half an hour later, eat fruit. An hour after that you may eat regular food, but keep it light. By supper, you should feel recovered.

Post Cleanse:

Consume 8 oz. organic apple juice morning or night (only) for 30 - 90 days. This flushes the perkeffer cells of the liver. These are the cells that produce bile. Solids will precipitate out of the bile to produce stones. Also make sure you drink plenty of water.

How well did you do? Expect diarrhea in the morning. Use a flash light to look for gall stones int eh toilet with the bowel movement. Look for the green kind since this is proof that they are genuine gallstones. Only bile from the liver is pea green. The bowel movement sinks, but the gallstones float because of the cholesterol inside. Count them roughly. You will need to total 2,000 stones before the liver is clean enough to help rid you of allergies, bursitis or upper back pain permanently.

The first cleanse may rid you of stones or a few days, but as the stones from the rear travel forward, they give the same symptoms again. You may repeat cleanses at two week intervals, just briefly if you have having troubles. Never cleanse while you are ill.

The liver cleanse is very safe, but occasionally you can feel quite ill for one or two days afterward.

It is recommended to flush your liver/gallbladder twice a year.

Adapted from "The Cure for all Cancers" by Hulda Regehr Clark, PD, ND
Provided to me from A Journey To Health.

Freedom is not Free

2012-01-23T21:18:00.002-05:00

My friend's son said goodbye again today.

Keep our military and their families in your prayers.

Moses Cone Park, NC

2012-01-23T05:18:00.019-05:00

Recently Connie and I were driving to the NC Mountains, going from the SC midlands up to Boone and back in one day. That's 8 hours of driving, so we planned in some time to hike and stretch a little. I chose to stop at the Moses Cone Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway, right there near Blowing Rock.

I've been to Moses Cone a few times, but have never taken the full hike up to the tower, so that was our goal for the day. The above photo is the view Moses and Bertha Cone enjoyed off their front porch every morning from the mid-1890's through, for Bertha at least, 1946 or so.......
Moses died in 1908.

The home, Flat Top Manor was closed for this visit -- late December, 2011. During open hours, you can tour the house and visit the gift shop. We simply enjoyed the view and walked out past the barn to the trail to the fire tower.

The Cones created 25 miles of carriage trails that are maintained today for hiking, horse riding and cross country skiing. The trails were busy the day we were there and we saw several people on horseback.

Be forewarned that at this time of year when the house is closed, there is no restroom available. The house is open daily from April or May to November. During the summer, you can find artisans demonstrating their skills on the front porch.

We passed the barn and began the 5.6 mile hike (round trip) to the tower. This hike starts on Flat Top Road which goes back under the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This hike will take you past the Cone Cemetery on your left. You can detour off to visit the cemetery or just keep going. On my last visit, I hiked to the cemetery and back. That was a great hike for a family with a 4 year old. She enjoyed it. It was long enough to get some exercise and short enough for the very young or elderly.

Passing the cemetery, you will soon come upon this field pictured above. There is a short-cut trail across the field if you'd like a steeper hike and to skip the zig-zag switchbacks designed to make the hike less strenuous.

We discovered several short-cut trails through the woods as well. These enabled us to skip a lot of the zig-zag on the carriage trail.

The summit of Flat Top Mountain, to which we were climbing, sits at 4,558 feet. Besides getting exercise, we also wanted to enjoy some great views of the mountains. Unfortunately, this trail did not provide much in the line of great views unless you climb the tower at the top.

The tower at the top of the mountain was placed there by the Cones for the purpose of getting a great panoramic view of the mountains. The fact that they had to climb a tall tower to get the view tells us something.

This was the best view we found on the ascent:

After 2.8 miles hiking up hill, we found the tower. We began to climb it, but I had to stop because I'm very much afraid of heights. I get vertigo.

Connie climbed a little higher than I, but turned around due to the large crowd. Kids were climbing up and down rapidly, lots of people all over it and we didn't feel very safe. The crowd came after these photos were taken. Really. It was crowded.

This was one of our other favorite views from the hike:

When you live in the SC Midlands, you don't see much snow.

Moses Cone offers at least five different hikes, maybe more. You can park down at the lake and take a leisurely stroll around it. There are two or three hikes under one mile in length. There's a 3.6 mile hike up the mountain as well. If you're traveling through the area and want a little fresh air and exercise, I definitely recommend a stop at Moses Cone Park.

Dakar 2012 Final Post

2012-01-22T18:18:00.000-05:00

I received two more pictures to share from Dakar 2012.

Here's James recouperating in the bivouac.
He looks pretty good here.

Below is Iain Stevenson's bike after Stage 5. His bike caught fire most likely from some grass that got caught between the exhaust pipe and the baseplate. Iain escaped unharmed and is more determined than ever to race again next year.

Long Live the Queen

2012-01-21T03:18:00.002-05:00

I've been having a lot of strange health issues for a few months now and in December it got debilitating, forcing me to visit the doctors. Each doctor was stumped, scratched his head and forwarded me to another specialist. The main problem remains undiagnosed, but in the meantime we discovered another problem - that of high platelets and both red and white cell counts. I had a bone marrow test and spent two weeks anxiously waiting for the results and considering, of course, that my life would soon be shortened.

Going through something like that is sort of like a mental or spiritual cleanse. As I reflected, I realized I could go either way -- live or die. I have no regrets, have lived almost every minute to the fullest (as recorded here), didn't put anything off to do later, etc. The only sorrow I had was leaving people I love and missing an upcoming trip to Europe with Marj. I have a strong faith in God through Jesus Christ, I believe strongly in the spiritual realm and that God himself has a definite plan for my life. I strive to live in His will and plan and I had confidence and peace that I was marching right along in line with His desire. (Likewise, there have been times I knew I was living outside His plan and did not have peace.)

So yesterday when I went to get the bone marrow test results......
I wasn't too anxious, I was kind of fine with it all. I just wanted to know one way or the other. And guess what? It's not leukemia. It's some other crazy long, termed blood disorder that basically means "your body is making too many platelets and we don't know why." It puts me at high risk for stroke and blood clots, so if you have any advice on how to avoid those, let me know.

I hit the road to spread the good news.

My parents were quite happy:

My sister and brother-in-law were..... um..... happy, I think. He might be re-thinking something or other. "Wait, what?"

Even Cousin David looked relieved. But that might have been the pizza.

My nephew and his wife were very, very happy 'cause they think I'm pretty cool.

My brother and his wife were happy. She, more than he, it appears. Oh wait, no he was in pain during this photo, tremendous back pain, so he is simply stoic. I'm sure he is very happy for me.

And that concludes the photos from my "Stayin' Alive" party in Charlotte, NC.

Looks like there will be a few more years of Planet Pookie.

Disappointment at the Presidential Campaign Rally in Aiken SC

2012-01-17T21:18:00.025-05:00

The Aiken County Republican Party and the Greater CSRA Conservative Coalition promised this:

and delivered this:

A Newt.

That's it. Newt Gingrich.

I felt snookered.

The old bait and switch.....

Oh, I maintained a pleasant demeanor.

As I sat in the Dunce's corner.

I think some heads are gonna roll tonight. This was a big event. Most, if not all, of the candidates were expected and promoted to be present, yet only Newt Gingrich was actually there. In a crowd of 1000, 99.9% white and one liberal (E.J. Dionne), Newt Gingrich had the stage uncontested and was practically salivating.

Washington Post's E.J. Dionne with Tom Sliker

Newt gave a comedic opening speech and then settled in for some Q&A.

medicaid fraud
illegal immigrants
health care

Newt giggled as he explained the gap between the world that works and the world that fails: Fed Ex and UPS works, US government fails.

"The US government can't find 11 million illegal immigrants." Gingrich smilingly suggested that we use the same technology that tracks a UPS or Fed Ex package to find illegal immigrants -- just "send a package to everyone who is here illegally. For $9.95 each, you can find them all."

In between sarcastic metaphors, Gingrich peppered his speech with the name Reagan, concluding, "I am the one candidate in this election who has the background to know how to win an election."

Bah. I didn't come here to hear Newt Gingrich. I wanted to hear from some of the others. We packed up our Ron Paul signs and went home halfway through Newt's Q&A. Ron Paul's representatives said he had to stay in Columbia tonight as he was receiving some senate endorsements to be named tomorrow.

It wasn't a wasted night. We had a moment of silence in honor of slain Aiken officer Scotty Richardson. We had fun talking with other Republicans. It was encouraging to see so many Ron Paul supporters. The music was great -- Kristie Hutson with the Waters Edge band and a few songs by Leon Everette. The flag was awesome - provided by Satcher Ford.

But as I left the crowd early, dragging my Ron Paul signs into the dark night, I wanted to point my finger at the event organizers and do a Wilson: "You lie!"

Please.

Don't anybody tell me that more candidates showed up after I left.

James Embro Talks About Injury and Dakar 2012

2012-01-16T03:18:00.000-05:00

I spent some time yesterday talking to James. He sounded great, said he's just now starting to feel some pain. His face has been numb since the accident on Stage 7 of the Dakar.

Read the interview at TheRaceShop and see what's next on James' agenda.

Browning Ground Beef Perfectly

2012-01-15T22:18:00.004-05:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

I had this idea first.

Honest!

You believe me, don't ya? I was browning ground meat one day and, as usual, it was clumping together in spite of me hacking away at it with a wooden spoon. My eyes wandered around the room, and what did I see? Aha! The potato masher!

“Can't hurt,” I thought. So I smashed and mashed away at the clumps and, in no time, that meat was UNCLUMPED and beautiful. I've been using that technique for years.

So you can imagine my surprise when I watched Rachael Ray one day and SHE was browning meat and SHE grabbed a potato masher and SHE announced it was a great idea to use the masher to break up the clumps. And did she ever mention that she got the idea from me? No, not a word.

Truth be told, I don't know how she stole that idea. I've never had her here for dinner. I've never written to her. Never emailed, tweeted, texted or called.

Be that as it may, she glommed onto my idea and started promoting it. Did she ever give me any credit? Nope, not once, not ever.

In an effort to stay one step ahead of her, I'm going to share another of my bright ideas RIGHT NOW!!.

When you need to melt a bit of butter in the microwave, you can end up with a sputtery mess. Once again, I cast my eyes around the kitchen and they landed on this little mug. Guess what? The butter melts beautifully and evenly and the higher sides prevent sputter mess. How simple! Love that idea.

By the way, take the wrapper off the butter before you melt it!

I don't think Rachael has plagiarized this idea.......yet. But if you see it on her show, you let me know, OK?

I want royalties.

...and one more thing......
uh, I'll get back to you when I remember it.
-
-
-
The Cheap Senior Citizen is a Guest Writer who occasionally shares helpful hints she has learned through her experience.
-

Sunday Afternoons . . .

2012-01-15T08:18:00.000-05:00

. . . were made for this:

Where does she get it from?

Happy Birthday, Ethel....errr.. Lucy...

2012-01-13T04:18:00.037-05:00

Today's the big day. The Big 5-0. No, not me. But almost me. My other half. No, not Tom. He's my better half. I'm talking about my other half, Ethel. (I'm Lucy) She will beg to differ. She's Lucy and I'm Ethel. It's an ongoing argument and as she turns 50, the argument turns about 19.

Happy Birthday, Connie, it's been quite a ride, sister.

Our friendship began over exercise if you can believe that. We live in a small town with no gym and seemed to be the only two people interested in exercise so we met in our living rooms to exercise with a video in the VCR. Remember those? VCRs. They were hot. We exercised so hard things on the mantle would shake.

Two Peas in a Pod

Over time, long talks on the patio would follow exercise and eventually the exercise was replaced by going out to eat or to a movie. And now we kind of regret that and are trying to exercise again, but we can't get the stupid VCR to work, so we might as well sit on the patio.

Speaking of the VCR not working...... It was Connie I called in an emergency one day, "Aunt Mary's stuck in the VCR!" I screamed over the phone, "Come quick, I can't get her out."

See Connie and I have had a lot of those "come quick" calls. When I needed neosporin on my butt, who do you think I called to apply it? When Tom was out of town and I had a stalker, who do you think crawled in bed with me and my kids? Yes, all of us in one room. Quaking. And it went both ways. When baby Grayson was sick and cried all night long (literally), who do you think Connie called to come restrain her from a murderous act?

Oh, Aunt Mary. I forgot about her, left you hanging. Aunt Mary, my great aunt, went to Californey and ended up on the Bob Barker show and won, among other small things, a pick-up truck. I recorded the show and would often watch it because Aunt Mary was pretty funny and she gave Bob Barker a run for his money. One day, the tape of Aunt Mary got stuck in the VCR and I didn't want to ruin it, so I thought ~~Ethel~~ Lucy and I could extract it. We couldn't. We couldn't re-assemble the VCR either, so I lost both objects.

At some point in our friendship, Algore invented the internet. We discovered email, how fun! That shot our relationship up another level, then of course, many years later, text messages and facebook shot our relationship off the charts.

Even in the emails, we were there for each other. Like Nov. 25, '96, 10:41 am I got an email with this subject line: I NEED YOUR HELP!! She wouldn't appreciate if I told you what THAT was all about.

Sure, we've had our ups and downs, like this email that began

I'm writing to beg forgiveness. I didn't get around to feeding the cats. Are they still alive?? And the goats, are they OK?? I had every intention to feed them. Even had the boys remind me (although Will yelled out his reminder last night at bedtime!).

Of course I never asked her to feed our pets while we were out of town again.

And we have had sappy moments like this one

I just want you to know how much I enjoy receiving your e-mail messages. I just read the one you sent (reading to Marj, waking up all crumpled, doing your laundry wrong) {editor's note:yeah, I wrote thrillers back then}. The mood I'm in today, I almost started crying because it was like someone out there was saying "Hang in there, kid. You've gotta friend."

Helpful, encouraging moments:

Have you ever burped up vitamins??? I took a handful on an empty stomach this AM before I left for work and thought I was going to barf before I got to the office. I had to (HAD TO) stop and get a biscuit to calm things down. Anyhow, I got your three messages and have decided that you stayed up so late just so you could feel like crap just like me. You're such a friend!!!

What?!?!?!?!? Your wick is stuck?? What were you doing? Putting it in some undisclosed area?? Girl, we need a night out!

Help me! Help me! Help me! I'm a big glob of fat growing globier and globier by the minute! I don't understand why. All I've had to eat today is three donuts and a trough full of Japanese food.

Weight and health was and still is a large part of our communication.

That's what you are! A big 'ole dog head. Do you honestly think that I care if you've lost three friggin' pounds?? I mean, just because I'm swelling up like a pus-filled sore, doesn't mean you should flaunt your diet successes in my face. Just kidding. (Editor's note: that was before we knew you could say JK) Of course I'm happy for you, but before you know it, you'll be in the hospital dying from anorexia and I'll be standing beside your bed (while eating a frosty from Wendy's) crying, saying something like, "If only I hadn't made her think she could actually lose that much weight...."

And I found the moment when Kwik Karry first entered our relationship. Kwik Karry is the greasy spoon where we meet for breakfast as often as possible. I've ordered the same thing for 20 years and now it's Val's Usual, except sometimes it comes out Val's Usually. A little southern grammar issue.

After my first visit to Kwik Karry, Connie wrote: "So, now I can start a rumor about you and the preacher man and Casey. A three-some. Dining at the local greasy spoon. How interesting!! We can call this saga Breakfast at Hoyt's or As the Wagon Wheel Turns."

As will all great friendships, ours occasionally required some brutal, honest reprimands.

Notice how all your emails to me lately have been responses to my emails? Get off the foggy headed wagon and put on that creative thinking hat and write me, girl. I need gossip, lusty stories, made up rumors and the like!!! My sanity at work depends on your messages. You wouldn't want the guilt of me going off the deep-end because of your lack of creativity, would you?

So you see, it's all her fault I started this blog.

Happy Birthday, old friend. You put the old in old friend. (I'm such a young hottie) Let me end this with a quote from you on April 1, 97.

Maybe I should try to get some work done, right??
OK, call or write later ifn' you get a chance.

More on the birthday girl:

In which she feeds the seagulls
In which she introduces me to Madea movies
In which she narrowly avoids the po-po
In which we take a three-hour tour
In which we take a cupcake tour of FL

Baked Chicken and Dressing

2012-01-10T09:18:00.021-05:00

This week holds the 50th birthday of a very good friend of mine and so I'm going to share a recipe she gave me fifteen years ago. It's a casserole - easy to make ahead in large batches, easy to freeze. Very yummy, too, everyone loves it.

Baked Chicken and Dressing

1 fryer chicken
1 stick of butter
1 8oz pkg. of herb stuffing mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
2 c chicken broth

Cook chicken in unsalted water. Cool and debone.
Melt butter and mix with stuffing.....

Place 1/2 stuffing mixture in bottom of 9x13 pan.
Place chicken on top.
Mix broth and soups. Pour over chicken and top with remaining stuffing.
Bake at 350, uncovered, 30 - 45 minutes.
Let stand 5 - 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

More on the birthday girl:

In which she feeds the seagulls
In which she introduces me to Madea movies
In which she narrowly avoids the po-po
In which we take a three-hour tour
In which we take a cupcake tour of FL

James Embro Explains Freak Accident from Dakar 2012

2012-01-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

Dakar 2012: The Long Flight Home

2012-01-07T15:18:00.003-05:00

James is on a flight as I write, having withdrawn from the Dakar 2012 during Stage 7 and I want to kick some booty. As a truck passed him, a rock strategically flew up and hit him in the face. He was taken to a local hospital where it was determined he would not require surgery. However, the swelling around his eye socket prevented his helmet from fitting properly, so he withdrew from the rally. Read the full story at TheRaceShop.

I can't imagine how disappointed he must be....
The course must be particularly difficult this year, people have been dropping out like flies. Top racers like Jonah Street and Quinn Cody dropped out a few stages ago. Only one American remains in the bike category: Ned Seusse.

James said the course was so busy and beat-up this year, it was difficult to gain ground. Kenny here, photo below, doesn't look like things are too rough over there.

Good job, James! My prayers are for your speedy recovery.

See more photos at Facebook.com/TheRaceShop

Snowmobiling in NY

2012-01-06T03:18:00.008-05:00

We are finally getting some cool weather in South Carolina. This past summer was a doosie. It has me wishing for snow. My area of SC usually gets one snowfall a year, sometimes two.

I grew up in upstate New York and spent many months under several feet of snow.

My front yard:

My back yard:

Notice the field behind the pool house - this is where we would snowmobile in the winter and dirt bike in the summer....
. I had trails in there that led me to my cousin Julie's house in which I would walk in the Spring and get covered in gooey milk weed. I've never seen milk weed again in my life. (click on that milk weed link and listen to the narrator's voice for a minute -- that's the sound of my native people)

When I was very young, I wasn't aware that my parents had a life apart from me and our house. Sure, they would disappear sometimes, but I never gave it a thought as to what they were doing. Years later I heard the fun stories of their game nights with friends and various parties and trips. For Flashback Friday, I'm going to related a trip my mother often recalls.

One year they took the snowmobiles up to Old Forge in the Adirondacks. I'll let mom tell you the rest of the story:

"We had fun flying around the old logging roads. They drive their snowmobiles right through town so we drove to the only restaurant that we found open and hitched our snowmobiles up front.

It was a creepy old house run by two old maids who apparently never had any customers. Each time we ordered something the waitress would say "Mar, do we have any crackers?" Then we ordered steaks. "Mar, do we have any steaks?" We heard the freezer open and clunk went the frozen steak on the table. "Yes" was Mar's reply.

We laughed so hard and we never forgot the trip to Old forge."

Dear 2012, You're Not So Big

2012-01-05T01:18:00.001-05:00

2012. A New Year.

Under normal circumstances, I would have put an exclamation point at the end of that, but not this year. This year is intimidating.

This year has me spooked.

This year is a little threatening, a thug.

2012, bad attitude and scary facade, let me know quickly that it is not to be toyed with; it will not be ignored or taken lightly. 2012 circles me on its Harley, stopping and messing with me at its pleasure. Approaching me, loudly kicking up gravel. Death, decay and ignorance trying to be "all that." Drawing blood and bruises -- brute force with a foul odor.....

I recognize the strength it has, I feel its power. It is real and vivid and in my face. But it is deceptive, distracting, directing my attention on the visible world instead of the invisible.

I will not accept the lie of 2012, the visible world. I will not breathe in its air of despondence, decay and futility of mind with its clamor, contention and beclouded reasoning. 2012 is

"a grotesque parody of the life I know," "jarring me to an alert awareness of the city of God."
(~ Philip Yancey quotes)

This perverse, spiteful object before me has no power over life and death. I am "hard pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." The all surpassing power is from God. This bully, this stinky, abusive thug knows that and wants me to doubt it.

Because that's all he's got.

Oh, 2012, you look fearsome. But I am in the midst of a triumphal procession, my friend. A triumphal procession in Christ who, through me, is spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For I am, to God, the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those, 2012, like you, who are perishing. To 2012, I am the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

Oh, 2012, you look like you are in control here. But you are captive, deluded, misled. You stand there fierce with strength and weaponry, but you can't save yourself. You cannot even say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"

My eyes are fixed not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

Oh, 2012, you are polluted falsity, reckless and wasteful, bursting with hidden dangers. Held captive by chains you cannot see. You need redemption. You need liberty, recovery, transformation.

Oh, 2012, you could be preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the broken-hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, setting at liberty those who are oppressed! Instead you are sadly mistaken, impotent and full of rage. Jesus Christ has prepared the way before me and I declare that this will be the acceptable year of the Lord.

Chinese Pepper Steak

2012-01-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

I've been cooking this quick and easy meal since my children were little. 20 years later, it remains one of their favorites. I double the recipe for my hungry family of five or triple it if we want leftovers.

2 lb.round steak, cut into cubes
1/4 cup veg. oil
1 green pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c soy sauce
1 8-oz. tomato sauce
1/4 tsp. sugar

Brown the meat in oil with pepper and onion. In a bowl, combine soy and tomato sauces, stir in sugar. Pour the sauce over the meat and simmer until done, maybe 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

Dakar 2012

2012-01-02T19:18:00.001-05:00

The Dakar Rally started once again on January 1. So I'm a little busy over at The Race Shop trying to keep up with it all. Between it and my health problems, this blog might get a little slow.

Race Shop owner James Embro has returned to the Dakar and left me here. Read more on his adventure with these links:

Dakar 2012 James Embro Day One
Dakar 2012 James Embro Day Two
Great Video Review Dakar 2012 Day Two

James in Argentina, photo courtesy Leandro Garcia

Drive-Thru Convenience Store, Okeechobee, FL

2012-01-02T03:18:00.000-05:00

My husband picked me up the other day all exuberant and flushed. "I found something you're gonna love!" He squealed as I jumped in the car.

Three blocks later we pulled up to this red shed.

A drive-through convenience store!

I had never heard of such a thing. I remember as a kid the few times our family would pile in the car and dad would drive us to the city to go through the automated car wash. That was a big treat, a real night on the town. So was this.

We dawdled. We oohed and ahhed over the racks of candy and shelves of chips. We marveled that we could actually drive through a convenience store. We asked the cashier what she recommended. And look here:

She knew exactly what I would want most!

Delivered right to my car!

How perfect is that?

Apparently, in our giddy excitement, we took too long. There was a long line built up when we left. Oops.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:18:00.000-05:00

I spent New Years Eve getting poked and stabbed, through X-rays and CT scans and was almost wheeled into surgery. After reviewing the CT scan, the doctor called off surgery, put me on antibiotics and told me to come see him again on New Years day. Not sure where this is leading, but hope to have answers soon.

On the evening before New Years Eve, a good friend and I were coming down off the mountain at 8-10 mph with fog heavier than I have ever seen in my life. I thought we were going to have to sleep in the car at the road's edge.

Hope you all have a wonderful New Year holiday. It's been a fun year here on Planet Pookie and I'm looking forward to more in 2012.

Becky Morse, a Tribute

2011-12-30T03:18:00.011-05:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

Editor's Note: Our Helpful Hints columnist, the Cheap Senior Citizen, takes a moment to share what's on her mind this month. I hope you have enjoyed this year's Helpful Hints as much as I have. I'm looking forward to some more great money saving tips in 2012. Ruth's writings are always posted on the 15th and 30th of each month.

(Pictured: The Crocker Sisters, Becky on far right)

I have been thinking about Jim’s mom a lot this month. She died in 2008 at the age of 92. Although she was not the last Crocker sister to die, Becky lived the longest. That kind of tickled her, because, as a child, she had some heart issues and the doctors back then told her parents they “would never raise her.” She showed them!

(Last picture taken)

Mom never had an education. She never had a degree. She never had a career. But she had a calling. She was a true and faithful servant of her Most High God.

She was an unselfish friend to one and all. She spent her life helping others.

She was fearless around the dying. Mom was not an outgoing person. But, of all the people in any hospital room, she was the one who stepped right up to the bed, held a hand, quoted the 23^rd Psalm and other scriptures. Sometimes she even quietly sang. What a gift.

For many, many decades, she was a gifted children’s teacher, not that she ever acknowledged that. But the kids all loved her and that says a lot about how she treated them. She taught Biblical truths in ways simple enough for a child to understand. She used to apologize when she prayed out loud in front of adults, explaining that

she had prayed with children for so many years, her prayers always sounded childlike.

I think they sounded precious to her Lord.

A couple of years before she died, I took her out to run some errands. We stopped at KFC for lunch. The guy behind the counter recognized her, called her by name, and recalled her teaching him in Children’s Church decades earlier.

She was an encourager. At her funeral, one of her pastors challenged the congregation: Who will take Becky’s place? Who will be that encourager? Mom understood the faults of others but she chose to focus on ways to encourage not criticize.

She was a prayer. Right up to the hours before she died, she was concerned about others and challenging us to keep praying for “the kids.” That would be her kids, her grandkids, her great-grandkids and great-great-grandkids.

What a heritage! What an example!

Mom was modest. She and dad were married 63 years and she never once undressed in front of him. NEVER! On the flip side, she had this delicious sense of humor. One year, when the usual group of family and friends went to Wildwood for a week at the beach, she schemed to borrow a bikini from [well, that person will remain nameless!]. As usual, she changed her clothes in private. Then paraded out to the exploding reaction from one and all!

Mom could play a mean game of Rack-O! She almost never lost, except when she did it on purpose so a youngster could win. The rest of us were toast. I wondered if she cheated. How could you cheat at Rack-O? If I knew how, I would have been able to beat her once in a while.

I miss you, Mom!

The Blizzard of 1990

2011-12-29T03:18:00.000-05:00

This is an early Flashback Friday because our Guest Writer, the Cheap Senior Citizen, has her regularly scheduled post for tomorrow.

During the Christmas holiday, with the kids home more and with us taking more time off work, we spent a lot of time looking at old VHS home videos. It's been so much fun. I suspect in the next two months you will see a few home videos converted to digital for your amusement...... like this one.

Two teenage boys in Upstate New York enjoy the Blizzard of 1990.
Featuring TroutU's Prof. Steve and Planet Pookie's infamous Cousin David with a cameo appearance from Nana. Also, a quick peek at NY's beloved dog "Chain" who was tragically killed off Hwy. 302 soon after his retirement to the South.

Fighting the Same Old Battle? Yeah, Me Too

2011-12-28T02:18:00.008-05:00

"Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted."

II Sam. 21:15

Do you think that was written with a heavy sigh? "Once again...."

I picture God picking up His pen at night after I'm curled up in bed asleep, writing in His diary.... "Once again there was a battle between Valerie and...."

No, I'm not revealing to you my personal big battles in life. Insert your name and fill in the blank with your personal battles. We all have a couple. The things we really struggle to overcome on almost a daily basis. The big temptations. The struggle that absolutely exhausts us, disgusts us, frustrates us. Where we beat ourselves up and think "Why, oh why can't I stop doing that???"

The original Hebrew word for "exhausted" is "uwph." It is "to cover, faint, to flee... Beth Moore describes it as "the overwhelming desire to run and hide." She continues, "The word even sounds like something you might say at a glimpse of an old enemy."

One of the things Beth learned through this passage is that

"God will always lead us to victory, but He will lead us His way. We may not always follow Christ to victory, but He is always leading."

You know what's really convicting here for me? Skip ahead a little to 2 Samuel 23: 8-39.
David had 37 "Mighty Men" to fight with him.

How many "Mighty Men" do I have? You? I tend to keep to myself, to fight the battle all by myself. I don't have a select group of "Mighty Men" to help me and I don't really trust very many people to put on that list. Do you have "Mighty Men?" Could you be a "Mighty Man?"

2 Corinthians 2:14-17:

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God."

Breakfast Casserole

2011-12-27T02:18:00.025-05:00

So you're having a crowd in for the weekend and wondering what to feed them for breakfast. You don't have to spend hours in the kitchen while everyone else is sleeping in! Why feed them something from a box in the freezer........

... when you can feed them sausage, eggs and cheese fresh from the oven with very little effort?!
Now with this super easy and delicious egg casserole, they'll think you're June Cleaver!
This feeds a huge crowd and all the work is done the night before, so breakfast is easy and relaxing. OK, enough with the commercial. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Nancy. And that girl knows how to feed a crowd.

"Breakfast Before"
1 lb. pork sausage (or bacon)
6 eggs
2 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
3 1/2 slices white bread, cubed
1 c. grated cheddar cheese

Cook and drain meat. Put bread on bottom of 13x9 pan. Spread cheese and meat over the bread. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, milk, salt and mustard. Pour this mix over the meat mixture in the pan. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

I've found that I prefer to make 1 1/2 times the recipe per pan. Also I've found that you can freeze it before baking and thaw it out the day before you want to cook it.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T01:18:00.014-05:00

My brother-in-law received this Christmas card from a friend in Poland. The verse in small print is John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a special blessing as we celebrate on a Sunday!

Santy Claus is Comin'?

2011-12-24T02:18:00.013-05:00

..... that's hard to believe.

Last Christmas, it snowed in South Carolina (see video), we went sledding and ate Jackie's potato soup (see recipe) and I thought that was unusual. (it was) This year, my windows are open and the attic fan is going full blast, it's 70 degrees out. Now that is unusual!......
I'm beginning to believe in Algore's Global Warming scenario and am about to give up all my aerosols as my attempt to prevent global warming.
I'm not, however, giving up my toilet (Ol Bessie) that flushes way, (tons!) more water than the newer toilets neutered by Algore's water-saving mandates. I've seen how those new toilets flush, or more specifically, how they don't flush, and well -- I'm not switching until Ol Bessie falls apart.

We took Eva over to Doug's shop to see the new puppies and pet Belle, the rescued fawn. She didn't wear that sweater very long. It's just difficult to have Christmas in hot weather. We were in Florida a couple weeks ago and found a new hip shopping area called Cityplace in West Palm Beach. It's like a fake city -- all cool, hip stores that are on a fake street and you walk around pretending you're in the perfect town, it's rather sickening actually. But anyway, as we were on the upper level, strolling through cafes with people sitting "outside" (wink, wink) on the "patios" (wink, wink), Tom and I stopped to peer over the railing below. Look what we found:

A fake ice skating rink! In the middle of the fake town. In the middle of one of the wealthiest towns in America. Those kids were using real ice skates, but that wasn't real ice. It was about 73 degrees at the time this picture was taken.

When I was a kid (you knew that was coming), I would bundle up in my snowmobile suit, loop my skates over my shoulder and go down to the frozen pond. (upstate NY) Tons of friends would be there, shoveling snow off the ice, skating, building a bonfire. What fun!

Yes, once or twice a year, I miss living in the cold North.

Merry Christmas, Ya'll.

Wish I was there.

Llewellyn and Clara Jones, The Music

2011-12-23T10:17:00.010-05:00

Part four in a four-part series Rev. Llewellyn and Mrs. Clara Jones.

I've been attending Baptist churches for 48 years now and the very first pastor I can remember and picture in my mind is Pastor Jones. He was the one who baptised me and established the foundation for my spiritual growth. He and his wife were also good friends of my parents so we have a lot of family memories as well.

Back in the '70's at our little rural church, the Jones family often sang for the church. Pastor and his 5 kids are all talented and musically gifted. Clara? Not so much. She and I agreed that we both can't tell when we're off key, can barely tell when someone else is off key and I have no earthly idea what pitch is. But we both love music. I might actually die without it, but she didn't make such a strong pronouncement.....

Back in those days the Gaithers were becoming popular and the Jones' often sang Gaither songs to the tune of Pastor's guitar. In the mid-70's, they recorded an album. If I remember right, all the girls on the cover were wearing long skirts, is that right? Anyone remember? Today it would be very Amish looking. Long hair, long skirts.

We loved that album. It was played around my house alternately with Jim Nabors and the South Pacific soundtrack. All vinyl. The Jones Family produced a second album, most excellent, then they moved away and the kids grew up; the albums ceased. I'd hear occasionally that they were together again and singing here or there, but no albums.

So when I caught up with them, 30 some years later in Florida, I was very surprised when Clara mentioned Cal's music. Wait/what?

"Oh yeah," Clara said, "Cal writes his own songs, sings them, plays the piano or guitar or gets the grand kids to play with him."

We sat back and got comfortable as we began talking music, reminiscing about the instruction Cal received from Mr. Butler, a senior member of our little church who passed away while I was quite young.

Cal didn't write any of the songs on the first two albums. As we talked, I was reminded that one of the songs was a playful one that went something like this: "I'm no kin to the monkey. The monkey's no kin to me. I don't know much about your ancestry but mine didn't swing from a tree." Oh boy, I can remember them up on the pulpit platform singing that song! (I couldn't get that song out of my head for the next two days!) (And now I'm hoping it's stuck in your head as well)

It turns out that songwriting is fairly new to Pastor Jones. He only wrote a few songs throughout the years until just last year the Lord has been placing a lot of songs on his heart. Throughout the years, he would only write a song when a church requested a song for a specific subject or theme. An Easter song, for example, was one he wrote back in my rural church in West Windsor, Ruth Morse (Helpful Hints Guest Writer here on my blog) helped him with the music. The song he wrote for that Easter long ago was What Have You Done With My Lord. Occupy Til I Come is a song he wrote during their years at a church in Moscow, PA.

Once the Jones' moved to Florida, the Seminoles loved Cal's music and asked him to sing every week. When there was a special need, he would write a new song. That's when he wrote Seminole Trail. He was so surprised when I told him that I had heard that song. He didnt' quite believe me until I told him it was a video on Facebook.

Pastor Jones now has about 14 songs he has written and performed for a CD to be released in January of 2012. Accompaniment is mostly piano and guitar with a little steel and maybe a little violin from his grandson, Joel. Most of the songs are sacred, but a few are secular.

When I mentioned I'm No Kin to the Monkey, he admitted there is at least one purely fun song on this new CD. It's called Don't Sit In My Pew. Oh, yes, I can't wait to hear that one.

While they've always been a musical family, the music hasn't financially supported them through the years like the preaching has.

"But there was one time," Clara began amid a lot of laughter, "One time we wanted some money to get to Florida and back. So the kids put their music on cassettes -- one side was Christmas hymns and the other side was the secular songs. We traveled like gypsies, selling the tapes at churches for gas money all the way to Florida. In Florida, had run out of cassettes and had to make more so we could get back home."

Oh yes, I sure miss the Jones family. Laughter was such a big part of their lives. I have so many stories from their few years at our church. We laughed the other day remembering when Laurie tied the horse to the handle on their back room's sliding glass door. The horse spooked and ran off, leaving the sliding glass door broken. (Pictured: me on a pony with two of the Jones girls)

Many stories I don't fully remember, I just have images in my head, fragments of memories like Pastor dressed as a woman sitting in for my mom or Ruth playing the church piano and Pastor in a negligee (over his clothes) at a party. Anyone want to explain that memory to me? That one concerns me.

If you'd like to purchase a CD: send Clara Jones a message on her facebook or shoot me an email - PlanetPookie@yahoo.com - and I'll help you get in touch with the Jones Family.

Jones Series:

Advice to Young Pastors

On Retirement

Personal Life

Blonde Brownies, Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-20T02:18:00.012-05:00

I've had this recipe for a long time and can't remember who gave it to me. I haven't made it in a long time, but it's a good one. I've been thinking about it since I returned from Florida with a trunk full of oranges. Another great idea for New Years Eve! (Ps. I leave out the raisins just because I'm not a kid anymore and I don't have to eat raisins)

Blonde Brownies

2 c peeled and diced apples (Granny Smith)

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

½ c (1 stick) butter

1 egg

1 ½ c flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp each salt, nutmeg, allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup chopped pecans

½ c raisins (optional!!)

Creamy Citrus Frosting (recipe follows)

Preheat 325. Butter 9 x 13 metal (not glass) pan.....

In a large mixing bowl, mix the apples with brown sugar. Set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients. In a small pan, melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg slightly. Sift together the flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.

Whisk the melted and cooled butter into the egg; stir this mixture into the apple mixture. Stir the flour mixture into the apple mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the nuts and raisins. (The batter will be thick). Spread the batter in the prepared pan.

Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, or until it tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pan, then frost. Slice and serve.

Creamy Citrus Frosting:

2 Tbsp (1/4 stick) butter, softened

2 Tbsp orange juice (from freshly squeezed just ripened FL oranges acquired in December) (it's worth a road trip)

1 to 1 ½ c confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Beat the butter with the orange juice until the butter is very soft (they will not mix completely). Add the sugar until the desired consistency is reached. Spread on the cooled brownies.

Llewellyn and Clara Jones, Retirement? Bah.

2011-12-19T03:18:00.050-05:00

I was talking recently with Pastor Llewellyn (Cal) Jones and his wife, Clara as we looked back on their 54 years in full time ministry in the pastorate. In a previous post I gave you some of their advice to young pastors and now I want to share a couple things about their ministry. It was very encouraging to see that despite the outward signs of retirement -- senior citizens, living in FL, living in a motorhome -- the Jones' had not retired, they were still actively serving God. I also asked about their most memorable moments.... read on, my friend.......

Cal and Clara were married in '55. He graduated in '56 and they went into ministry in '57. I asked them where they saw their ministry headed when they first got what is often referred to as "the call." I wondered if he was called into the pulpit immediately or if it evolved through other ministries first. He said he wanted to start as a youth minister and, in fact, did start as a youth pastor. But after preaching three times, the church asked him to be the pastor.

Two times in their ministry years they traveled a little and thought maybe they were heading into an evangelistic ministry; however, both times it became clear they needed to be back in a church full time.

As for retirement, Pastor Jones related a time he was in Honduras visiting his daughter on the mission field. He told me about visiting "the islands," which he anticipated as being beautiful resort-filled islands. He found them "terrible, primitive -- a walkway, no roads, no cars. We brought suitcases to our 'motel' in wheelbarrows."

He began thinking, "why are we here?"

Then they met an island pastor who built a church by tearing down a mainland church, carrying the supplies over to the island and rebuilding the church - it was beautiful, even with chandeliers. This old island pastor and Cal walked outside and found a block of cement. Cal asked the pastor, "What are you doing with this cement pad?" The 91-year old pastor told Cal he was going to build Sunday School classrooms on that cement pad. Cal told me, "He's 91 and he's doing all this. It made me realize I'm only 75! I'm not gonna quit now!" He then wrote a song about the experience -- Paradise is What You Make It. That is one of many songs he has written recently that will be featured on a CD to be released, Lord willing, January of 2012. He continued,

"It was a terrible experience, but I learned something. Now I understand why the Lord brought me there."

See? No retirement. 91 or 75 or 55, God always has a plan for you, something for you to do.

When it was time to wind down my conversation with Pastor and Mrs. Jones I asked the fun question: What is your most memorable experience in church ministry?

Cal: "In West Windsor, our church had a mens softball team. I'll never forget when Jerry, your dad, came around third base rolling in the dirt.

He stood up, glasses on the side of his face, looked at me and said, 'We got 'em right where we want them now!' He was staggering all over the place and we were losing so bad, we were maybe 30 runs behind."

I later asked my dad about that. He and mom laughed and laughed, mom said, "Jer fell down, but his legs kept running in the air, then he got back up and began running toward the outfield! I remember Clara saying sweetly, 'Isn't he going the wrong way?'"
"The funny thing is, though," Dad said, "We came back and won that game."

Clara: "This young girl came in from the projects. Sweet little thing, she got saved and Cal was going to baptize her. The water was way too cold. She set both her hands on the front railing and moaned as she tried to get used to that water. Up and down, getting a little wetter each time, trying to get used to the cold. Each time she'd pop back up and moan a little more!"

Since the Jones' mentioned dad in their favorite memory, I had to ask dad what his favorite memory of Pastor Jones is. That was easy. "It was their first Christmas at our church," Dad began, "Your cousin Mark got up to play the trombone in the Christmas musical. He squawked out a few incorrect notes, stopped and muttered 'Aw, Nuts!' and tried again. He did this several times, always stomping his foot, always muttering 'Aw nuts!' and always restarting from the beginning. Finally, Midge whispered out from the side door, 'Psssst, Mark? You're done! Come out now!!' Mark never finished the song and Pastor Jones was right there on the front pew, shoulders shaking from suppressed laughter."

Cal and Clara Jones' Advice on Ministry
A Personal Visit with the Jones'

West Windsor Baptist Church before mine or the Jones' time:

Port Charlotte, FL Church

2011-12-18T07:18:00.003-05:00

I'm propped up in my bed on a Sunday morning, tissues, books, computer all around me. Sniffle, cough, ache. I don't feel good and I sort of want my mommy to feel my forehead and fuss over me. It's Sunday morning and I am missing church. I am thinking about my new church, a church plant in a nearby community that Tom is helping out to get their music ministry started. I am thinking of the children there who will perform their Christmas musical today. I am thinking of my home church where my daughters and BFFs attend and my pastor's wife is about to explode with new life. But mostly I am thinking of last week at this time, the church I got to visit and the message about our Padre Eterno, Principe da paz Everlasting Father, who always seems especially close when I am curled up in bed with a cup of coffee.

A few weeks ago in my Florida Tour I managed to get back to one of my favorite churches -- Edgewater United Methodist Church. This church meets in a former movie theater which always appeals to my creative side.

Our 9:30 Sunday a.m. service was packed out. It was a contemporary service. They currently offer three Sunday monring services, one of which is traditional. They also offer a Saturday evening service which we almost attended. I've never had a Satruday night worship service and was interested to see how it felt. They will have three Christmas Eve services (!) and one Christmas Day service with a potluck following. Interesting, huh? They offer a thrift store, bike ministry, recovery ministry, lots of kids ministries, promise keepers, ladies clubs, etc. divorce care, food pantry..... Does your church reach out to the community like that?

You know when you visit a church there are times you immediately feel like family and then some times you never feel quite comfortable? This church has always felt like home to me. This church and a church in Nashville I'll never forget.

EdgewaterChurch.com

facebook.com/edgewaterchurch

Llewellyn and Clara Jones, 30 Years Later

2011-12-16T04:18:00.005-05:00

I recently had the opportunity to travel to Palm Beach, Florida. I can only take so much in-your-face wealth and fluff, so I soon hung a hard right at Royal Palm and took a beeline towards Lake Okeechobee. I was on a mission for Trout University, I wanted to see who was catching what on this bass-famous lake. (answer: nobody. I saw No.Body fishing, but the locks are fascinating)

En route I had another one of my brilliant ideas: why don't I look up my former pastor who will always be "My Pastor" reported to be living in the town of Okeechobee ministering on the Seminole Reservation? Besides, I'd never been to a real reservation and I wanted to see me some teepees.

Guess what? I didn't see any teepees. These are 21st century Indians, the houses, the cars, the land.... all look like the rest of the state. I was disappointed. But I had such a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones, the teepees were long forgotten. I had so much fun, I got to go back the next day and have a longer visit.....

My family was close to the Jones family back in the '70s when Cal and Clara Jones were called to our church -- West Windsor Baptist -- in upstate NY. They lived above the church for a bit until a parsonage was built and they moved in right across the street from me. They had five kids, one of which was a super cute boy with whom I anticipated a marriage and a beautiful life, but he avoided me like the plague and my plans were never brought to fruition.

Pastor Jones was later called to a church in Erie, PA and the family packed up and moved, a very tearful event. I visited them once in Erie, my weak, final attempt to snag that cute boy. My parents and grandparents were nearly killed while coming to pick me up. The interstate they were on had closed in a winter storm and my folks were snowed in on that strip of highway that was no longer being snowplowed. They were eventually rescued, picked me up and we never went back.

It was almost ten more years before I came across the Jones family again. They were hunkered down under several feet of snow again, this time in Moscow, PA. "We spent half the winter pulling people out of the ditch." Pastor said when they left Erie, they spent a couple years in evangelism, it was three years before he got back into preaching there at the foot of the Pocanos. You'll love this:

"Moscow was looking for a church and the deacon looked down a long list of applicants. He didn't know what to do. As he scrolled down the list, he saw Call Jones right there on the list under the J's. 'That's just what I did,' he says. Instead of Cal Jones, he saw Call Jones! I stayed there 24 years. All 4 kids graduated and moved on except Lane" (that cute little boy I mentioned).

After the 24 years in Moscow, the Jones' began traveling just a bit, doing evangelism. They built an apartment near their oldest daughter, Luanne and her family, still have it and usually spend summer there.

(Me, Laurie and Kobe, one of her buddies)

While preaching in various churches and considering a traveling ministry, their youngest daughter Laurie asked them to come down to Florida and help her and her husband Bill with their church on the Seminole Reservation. This was around 2004. Laurie and Bill had been at this church just a little while. They built a slab for Pastor and Clara's motorhome and convinced them to come winter in Florida each year.

I got to spend an afternoon with Laurie and catch up on things since our last visit in Moscow. (PS, if you build a house, get Laurie and Bill to architect and design it, they've redone most of their house, still working on some, and it's unbelievably beautiful) (Yes, I took pictures) (Yes, I even took pictures of her closet) (They can even make a closet spectacular!)

She has a spectacular "mud room." Check out this mud room sink Bill built her -- all tile, with built-in shelves for her herbs.

She has a sprayer to water them down easily each day and let the drippings fall into the sink. The big sink bowl is easily removed for larger objects you may need to rinse. But, I digress.

Where was I?

By the time Jones' moved to Okeechobee, they were empty-nesters. They raised 5 kids -- 3 are pastors or pastor wives, 1 (Lois) is a missionary in Honduras and the other one (Luanne) is a teacher at a Christian school. Pastors Kids have a bad reputation and I was glad to hear their kids grew up so well. For those who know them, here's an update. Gene is an executive pastor with two services in WVA. Lane is a pastor with two services in PA in the middle of farmland, about to build a new church. Luanne and Dale are in WVA doing the grandparenting thing. Luanne teaches at the Christian school, Dale is a contractor. Lois and Paul are in Honduras with one daughter still home and one here in the states for college. Laurie and Bill are here in FL, both sons grown and out. One son, Joel, is in music ministry in Jacksonville and the other son is serving in Afghanistan. Laurie and Bill just recently resigned from the church on the reservation and are serving at another church nearby.

I hope to get back to Okeechobee on a Sunday and visit the Seminole Baptist church and hear Pastor Jones sing and preach again. I recently wrote about what advice they'd give to young pastors starting out. I'll write more about their ministry and music ministry in other posts soon.

Use Heat Therapy Corn Bag to Keep Food Hot

2011-12-15T04:18:00.006-05:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

A corny idea.
I've been attending a weekly ladies' Bible study at church this fall. We are using a Beth Moore DVD series on the life of David. It's a great time. We have a special group of ladies, a fantastic leader and are learning so much.

Being Baptist, though, we do like to have a snack whenever we meet. I signed up for a week in November. Dug out an old yummy Applesauce Spice Muffin recipe and conned Jim into doing most of the work. I'm no fool!

These muffins are great, but better when they are warm. What to do? I am not one of these super-organized women who has tucked away every conceivable kind of container/casserole/carrier/gizmo you'd ever wish to own, for any circumstance of life. I did have a very nice basket......

AHA! Me thinks!!

Here's what I came up with. And, being a bit OCD, I did practice this at home instead of just taking a chance and winging it! What you need if you want to follow my almost-brilliant idea:

A nice big basket
Muffins baked in paper cupcake cups
A linen tea towel
A microwave place
A corn bag!!

Yup, that's the key. A good, old fashioned, homemade corn bag. You know, the microwavable kind that you use for aches and pains.

After several trial runs, this was the best plan. Warm the corn bag in the microwave for 2 minutes. Nestle the bag in the bottom of your basket. Put the muffins on a microwave plate and warm for, say 16 seconds, depending on the power of the microwave you are using. You may need to do this in batches. The muffins do not need to be hot. You take the chance of creating hockey pucks of you over-micro them. Less is best! Just a bit warm is all you need.

Take the muffins off the plate and place them directly on the toasty corn bag and cover with linen towel. The muffins stayed warm for at least 45 minutes! Amazing, huh?

Keep Cords Untangled with this Cord Winder

2011-12-14T04:18:00.000-05:00

We were cruising through a Batteries Plus store in Florida looking for a cordless phone battery when I found these magnificent objects called an AppleCore:

I've been so frustrated with the cord on my earbuds! Everytime I use my iPod, I have to untangle the cord. But not anymore, my friend, check this out:

It works like a charm, too, I love it. I got some bigger applecores that I'll try for my laptop cord, my nook cord, phone cord and tethering cord. Am I forgetting anything?

Lemon Meringue Pie, Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-13T02:18:00.004-05:00

The secret to an outstanding lemon meringue pie is in the lemon. According to my mom, the world's best pie baker, you need to use a Ponderosa lemon. That is the secret to awesomeness. And my mom knows awesome.

The Ponderosa can be difficult to find -- call, email or stop in any orange shop and see if they have some -- they may not even know what you're talking about, so elusive is she.

I suppose I am thinking about the Ponderosa lemon now because I've just spent a week in Florida, the closest place for me to acquire a fresh Ponderosa.....
And I thought this was prime Ponderosa season. Of course it's prime orange and grapefruit season, but they're telling me the lemons ripen in July and August. I'm not convinced, however, that they are correct about the Ponderosa. She's not just a lemon, she's not any old lemon, and I think she ripens later in the year. Sadly, I never found my Ponderosa on this recent trip.

You only need one, the Ponderosa is huge and one will actually make a couple pies.

Mix in saucepan:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

(note: Mix the cornstarch with the sugar BEFORE putting in any liquids that way you can make sure you get all the lumps out. If it's clumpy in the box stir it up good before even measuring it out but mixing it with the sugar should do it you never can get that or flour or anything "unclumped" once you put it in liquids.)

Stir in gradually:

1 1/2 cups water

Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickens and boils. Boil

1 minute. Remove from heating surface and slowly pour half of mixture

into: 3 egg yolks slightly beaten (let them sit in a bowl on the stove next to the saucepan mixture to get warm prior to using).

Then blend into mixture left in pan and boil 1 minute longer, stirring

constantly. Remove from heat and continue stirring until smooth.

Blend in

3 Tbs. butter

1/2 cup squeezed lemon juice from your Ponderosa lemon (any other lemon will work, too, just not as good)

Pour into baked pie shell. Cover with meringue and bake until meringue is golden brown (not too long) I put it under broiler but watch it CONSTANTLY because it WILL get too burnt if you don't watch it and get it

out as soon as it's lightly browned!!!

Meringue:

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tarter

6 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg whites with cream of tarter until frothy. Gradually beat in sugar a little at a time. Continue beating until peaks form and add vanilla. Cover pie and bake as above.

Llewellyn Jones: Advice for Young Pastors From a 54 Year Veteran Pastor

2011-12-12T03:18:00.004-05:00

I recently had the chance to get back down to the perpetually sunny state of Florida and with my unending battle with SAD, I always need a little sun in the winter. Just like a cute little tulip, I perk up nice when I get me some sunshine.

On a quiet afternoon I met up with Rev. Llewellyn ("Cal") Jones and his wife, Clara. In the ministry now for 54 years, they are currently serving at a church on the Seminole Reservation, proving my theory that Christians are not called to retire. Christians are called to serve, love and minister until they die, I'm pretty sure. And there the Jones' are, in a motor home, in Florida, in retirement years, but still going strong.

(Left to right: Cal, Clara, daughter Laurie, friend Raina)

So of course I had to ask them some questions. I wanted to wallow in the wealth of wisdom 54 years of ministry produces. I wished I had several days to talk to them.

"What," I asked, "would you advise a young pastor and his wife who are just starting out in ministry?" .....
Yeah, I got the deer in the headlight look - they wanted to think about this one, make it count, but I didn't let them. I pushed, "Give me your first response." Together they gave me these ideas:

Know it's the Lord's calling.
Know the priority of the family over the church - first is wife, then kids, then the church. "A lot of preachers reverse that to their regret." Cal added.
Don't live in parsonages. Get your own home so you have something when you need it.
Scripture Memorization. "Preachers have to memorize scripture, have to be men of the Word. If they're not, they are fakes, playing at the ministry." Cal was pretty firm on this.

How has the church changed over your 54 years of ministry?

"There's two big hindrances right now," Cal began, "The first is music - it has taken over and the second is the KJV-only issue -- that has really hurt the churches. Some churches won't have me because I don't preach the King James Version only. That's all I use, but I don't preach against the others, I won't get in the fight."

Clara jumped in on this one and led into an interesting conversation that most KJV only folks have never been outside America and don't realize that there is no KJV in many countries and many languages. As for the music, "It's too extreme!" Clara leaned forward and continued, "There's no moderation." The music today is either too sad and slow or else too peppy and fast. "You have to settle them down before you can preach." Cal said. Clara commented that the Seminole Indians here "sing the old hymns, but they sing with conviction and the way they ought to be sung."

She convinced me that I need to return on a Sunday and attend the church.

Road trip, anyone?

Then I leaned in for the killer question we all want to know:

What would you do different if you had it all to do again?

At first, their answer was basically No Regrets! They would do nothing different other than purchase a house in the early years. Then it got interesting, they split into two directions – Clara, toward family and Cal, toward the church.

Clara talked about the importance of dealing with your children the way God deals with us – grace and mercy – with your children and your church people. She smiled at me and said,

“Your dad taught me this. He was talking one day about baking and how your mom could go in the kitchen and bake like a pro, she wouldn't have a bit of flour on her, but he would go out and be a total mess. What he told me,” Clara continued, “was that everybody has a right to fail. That impressed me so. Kids – and church members alike – have to have a right to fail, you can't just keep beating them down with the things they do wrong.”

Cal thought awhile and had his firm answer. What would he do differently? He would not follow someone else's ideas unless the Lord really shows him it's His way. He now encourages pastors to seek God's way, not contests or programs. Churches often use contests or programs to reach people, such as Bring a Friend Sunday.

“They select a program and then say 'pray about it and the Lord will bless it.' But God will bless what He starts, what He leads me to do.”

Cal continued, “We need to learn to do things God's way, not the way someone else was successful doing. We want something that will work and someone else got it to work, so we try it.

The Lord's an innovator.

We don't have to follow other people's ideas, it's a lot more exciting to see Him work!"

“It doesn't matter if it's a success or a failure if it's not God's way. Salvation is of the Lord, done by his Holy Spirit, not by smart preachers. You have to stop and ask the Lord what He wants, wait for Him to show you what to do. Young guys are big on starting contests, getting things done, but God will lead each of us individually.” And he finished with a quote, perhaps from Bill Gothard, “Work done God's way will always get God's results.”

This is the first in a short series on my visit with Cal and Clara. Join me later this week for more on their life and ministry including the exciting news about a CD coming out in January! (Who remembers their first album back in the '70's?!) Sing with me now: I'm no kin to the monkey, the monkey's no kin to me, I don't know much about your ancestors, but mine didn't swing from a tree......

2011-12-09T02:18:00.003-05:00

This is the look my son gave me right before his wedding almost a month ago:

This look haunts me

humors me

delights me

confounds me.

What was he thinking?

I love the eye-to-eye contact, the idea that there was an unspoken moment between us. Was it a thanks for raising him? A thanks for all the times he got to lick the bowl, snuggle while watching the moon outside his bedroom window, listen to the snoopy song while riding to school? Was it panic? Wondering if he was making the right move, wondering if there is anything else I should tell him, wondering if marriage is good? Was it regret? Was it assurance? Was it a pause, a moment to withdraw from what was happening around us and acknowledge our relationship?

Was it goodbye?

Breathing's Just a Rhythm

2011-12-08T09:18:00.001-05:00

Hold on

one more time with feeling

try it again, breathing's just a rhythm

say it all in your mind until you know that the words are right

this is why we fight

you thought by now you'd be

so much better than you are

you thought by now they'd see

that you have come so far

and the pride inside their eyes

is synchronized into a love you'll never know

so much more than you can show

hold on

one more time with feeling

try it again, breathing's just a rhythm

say it in your mind until you know that the

words are right

this is why we fight

One more time with feeling ~ Regina Spektor

Rod Stewart Look-Alike

2011-12-07T16:09:00.001-05:00

I've always wondered what ever became of Rod Stewart...... I think we found him in a little outdoor cafe'.

Cheese Dip, Tasty Tuesday

2011-12-06T01:18:00.001-05:00

This cheese dip is actually called "To-Die-For Cheese Dip." That's how good it is. I've had this for quite awhile, my memory isn't clear on who gave it to me. I think Cousin David's wife, Renee passed it along. This would be great for New Years Eve.

8 oz cream cheese

2 chopped green onions (I prefer a little less)

8 oz Swiss cheese

8 oz Colby jack cheese

1 c mayonnaise

12 crushed Ritz crackers

¼ c real bacon bits

Mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, chopped onions and shredded cheese.

Put in glass dish

Top it with crushed crackers and bacon bits.

Microwave until hot and bubbly – 4 -7 minutes.

The Energy of Essex Has Me Totally Knackered

2011-12-04T03:18:00.005-05:00

When Marj and I backpack across Europe next Summer, we have decided to visit Essex. We want to see if everyone in Essex is super-hyper. Sophia Grace and Russell Brand are both from there. They don't claim to be related, but surely...... you see for yourself. Can everyone in Essex be like this?? Anyway, Marj and I are gonna get to the bottom of this......

Hometown Holiday

2011-12-03T00:18:00.002-05:00

I live in a quaint little town much like TV's Stars Hollow. Not that I often use TV as a reference point, but it works.

For Christmas, our little town has a Hometown Holiday that includes a horse and carriage ride, fireworks, musical performances by just about everyone and small shops that invite you to stop by for cookies and cocoa. Parade, car show, crafts.... we have it all.

But this year? Even the parade host was surprised by one parade entry. "And ladies and gentlemen, now coming through the parade is a lovely, young gir......" {pause} "We have a giraffe in the parade??" {laughter} "We have a giraffe in the parade!!!" {glee}......

Click here if you're not sure what Stars Hollow is.

December Daily

2011-12-01T03:18:00.000-05:00

Way back in the day, I used to be a scrapbooker. All that got shoved to the back corner of my life once I began blogging. This year, 2011, I am going to attempt to do Ali Edwards' December Daily. It requires scrapbooking every day in December, but just one page, one very small page in my case. The page is to reflect something -- anything -- about that day.

I picked up a few more supplies while I was at the Scrapbooking Superstore in Seiverville, TN this past weekend and I'm fired up.

I think I can..... I think I can.... I th......

Oatmeal Slow Cooker Crock Pot Recipe

2011-11-30T03:18:00.005-05:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

New England Oatmeal That Has Nothing to Do With New England

I do like oatmeal, especially in the winter. Not the instant kind where you just add boiling water. No, no, NEVER. I don’t even buy the quick cooking or five minute kind of oatmeal. I want the old fashioned rolled oats like my mom always used. My dad grew up in the state of Maine and I think he, too, grew up on oatmeal. Thus, the New England part of the name of this recipe.

Don’t worry, you won’t find any baked beans in this. Or, sadly, no lobster. But it does have cranberries!

I have standards about how my oatmeal should taste, but........

I’m not a purist about how to get it to the table. Mom, of course, cooked it in a sturdy pan on the stove top. And then spent half an hour every morning scraping and scrubbing the pot. I wanted the same texture and flavor but without the work and/or clean up. Cooking it in the microwave, per the directions on the box, is the fastest, with the least dirty dishes. But it just was not cutting it for flavor or creaminess.

Then I started reading about making a big batch in the slow cooker. There are tons of slow cooker oatmeal recipes. Some of them are almost candy. Some are chewy, more like granola bars. I wanted something like I grew up on, but with a few extras.

I pulled together ideas from a number of online cookbooks or blogs and this is what I came up with. I used a 2 quart sized crock pot. If you don’t have anything that small, you should probably double the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of oatmeal

1 cup skim milk

1 cup water

1 tablespoon vanilla***

1 chopped apple [leave the skin on]

1/3 cup dried cranberries

Dash of cinnamon

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar, honey or the equivalent of artificial sweetener

2 tablespoons ground flax seed**

**Flax seed is totally optional. I like to have some flax seed every day and this is the easiest way to sneak it into food.

***I’d never put vanilla in my oatmeal before. What a difference! It give it so much flavor, I don’t use as much sweetener as I used to!

INSTRUCTIONS

Spray the inside of your slow cooker with baking spray [remember, you should NEVER put food inside a naked crock pot!] and turn on low.
Dump all the ingredients in the slow cooker, stir to mix.
Put the cover on.
Leave the cover on.
Don’t take the cover off to get a better look.

Here’s where I parted company with a lot of the recipes I read. I only cooked the oatmeal for about 1 ½ hours. Some people claim you can cook this for as long as 9 hours. The benefit of that is you could assemble this, go to bed, and wake up to cooked oatmeal. I think I would wake up to dried up, chewy, crunchy oatmeal. I like mine creamy. So there!

I love this stuff! Leftovers can be re-warmed in the microwave. And there are always leftovers. I cannot get Jim to try this, silly man. He’d rather make himself some grits in the microwave. I suppose all of you southerners are screaming at him right about now, ruining grits in a microwave. Go ahead---he should be eating good, old, New England style oatmeal.

So I got the slow cooker recipe pretty well down. But sometimes I just want the convenience of cooking one serving in the microwave [i.e. I was too lazy to make this yesterday and/or I don’t want to wait an hour and a half for breakfast]. Here’s my version of that:

½ cup rolled oats

1 cup water

Dash salt

2 teaspoons brown sugar, honey or the equivalent of sweetener

2 teaspoons of ground flax seed

A small wad of dried cranberries

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Forget the cinnamon and the apple. They don’t work as well in the microwave version. Dump all the above in a large cereal bowl. In my new 900 watt microwave, cook at 90% power for 2 minutes and 27 seconds. Honest. I’ve done research on this. Keep on eye on it, to make sure it does not escape over the side of the bowl! Stir, then cook for about 10 seconds more if it looks like it needs it.

To be honest, this is not as creamy as the slow cooker version, but it will do in a pinch.

If I were more mathematical, I would figure out how much cheaper it is to make this oatmeal than to buy those cruddy individual serving things you do in the microwave. But my math skills have gone south. Have any of you seen them? If so, please send them back.

Hibernate

2011-11-26T02:18:00.004-05:00

hi - ber- nate

1. To pass the winter in a dormant or torpid state.

2. To pass the winter in a dormant condition with metabolism greatly slowed down

i have a tendency at this time of year to begin hibernation

to curl up under a blankie and remain

motionless

even as my body slows down, so does my mind

as the blood thickens and slows

moving in dredge-like fashion

so do my neurons

my brain gets

sluggish

and sadly uninterested in processing new information

always an introvert

during hibernation i spike the introvert levels

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T11:45:00.000-05:00

This photo was taken by a distant cousin -- Eugene Maslar Jr. -- out on the farm where they hunt. This is my first Thanksgiving dinner as a mother-in-law and all my kids are coming over. We are thinking about all our family and friends today and so thankful for all of you! Have a great dinner.

Dakar 2012

2011-11-23T03:18:00.000-05:00

I'm over at The Race Shop today talking Dakar. You know I've been waiting ten long months to start talking about it again. I've been a very patient girl.

Simply Inspired Freschetta Pizza: Tasty Tuesday

2011-11-22T02:18:00.001-05:00

The great folks at Freschetta sent me a coupon for a free pizza. Tom went to the store and picked one up and you'll never in a hundred years guess which one he bought:

Vegetable.

Vegetable pizza. Two words that we both would never in our dreams, ever put together........
We're talking about Tom S., Supreme Judge of New York Style Pizza and inventor of the New York Pizza Finder, enabling travelers everywhere to find New York style pizza wherever their travels take them. He picked up a Simply Inspired Vegetable Pizza

At this point, I just wasn't simply inspired. My Simply Inspired vegetable pizza sat in the freezer for awhile. Then one dark, lonely night, we pulled it out and cooked it up.

The pizza was fantastic. Thin crispy crust. Little yummy chunks of tomato. Strange veggies that tasted good because they were part of something bigger. Those of you who know me will find this hard to believe. You are going to think that because I'm a Freschetta Blogger, I am simply promoting their product, but that's not true. I hope you know me well enough to know that my reviews are authentic, I say what I really think. And I think you should try one of these vegetable pizzas and get some vegetables in your system for a change.

Go to Freschetta and get your dollar-off coupon.
Buy and eat your pizza.
Submit your review to Freschetta and you just might win a Visa card.

The product in this review was given free of charge. My opinions are my honest, tried-and-true views and were not influenced by any source. I was not compensated monetarily to advertise this campaign.

Grilled Cheese Academy

2011-11-20T15:18:00.002-05:00

You won't believe what I just found.....

The freakin' Grilled Cheese Academy, that's what.......

I know, right? Who knew?! The site is awesome -- Sandwich Directory, Cheese Index, Recipe Gallery -- and even a place to submit your own recipe. I had a little trouble with the search feature, it would not bring up The Big Sal for me. Then I had trouble in the Gallery of Deliciousness. I'm hoping it was a problem with my browser and not the site.

Go to the cheese index. Pick out a cheese you like and click on it. It'll give you info. on the cheese AND link you to recipes that include that cheese. That's how, my friend, I found The Marco -- it's what happens when Wisconsin Provolone and Parmesan double date with tomato sauce and fried chicken breast cutlet.

And the Dominique? Well, if I make that, I can use my mortar and pestle for the walnut pesto!

This site is just too good to be true. Somebody pinch me. How do you like your grilled cheese?

NASA is Now Hiring Astronaut Recruits

2011-11-18T15:18:00.003-05:00

NASA is now hiring. Well. By "now," I mean Spring 2013. They are accepting applications now and will hire between 9 and 15 recruits by Spring 2013.

NASA is looking for astronauts willing to go to Mars and beyond.

"NASA is continuing space exploration programs that will include missions beyond low Earth orbit."

Beyond low Earth orbit? Because low Earth orbit is so yesterday.....

NASA is looking for people with advanced degrees in engineering, math, biology or the physical sciences. You can't be shorter than 5'2" or taller than 6'3". Pilots with more than 1,000 hours of flight time are desired; so are educators. I'm out of the running on so many counts.

Currently, according to this npr report, there are about 60 active astronauts but only a handful blast off into space each year. I find it odd that I grew up with one of the "handful" astronauts. What are the odds?

"As our knowledge of the universe in which we live increases, may God grant us the wisdom and guidance to use it wisely." ~ John Glenn

For more on NASA and the International Space Station, see the "Travel:OuterSpace" category on the right side of my home page.

Black Friday 2011 Prep

2011-11-18T04:18:00.001-05:00

Who's getting ready for Black Friday?

Black Friday has been a lot of fun through the years, but......
now it's getting a little sick, with the injuries and stuff. Also? Last year, stores opened at midnight instead of 4 a.m. Now, this year? Stores are opening at 9 or 10 pm the night before -- Thanksgiving. That's just ridiculous. Ridiculous like playing Christmas music the day after Halloween instead of the day after Thanksgiving, as I heard this year in a Walmart store.

Why do we have to take a good thing and screw it up?

Read about Black Friday 2008 where I insist that I'm not a Black Friday shopper. That post has a few good tips, too. Read about Black Friday 2010 where I discuss how I was sucked back into Black Friday shopping after years of ignoring it.

Anyway, in case you are still going out on Black Friday morning, here are some of the Black Friday deals I've found so far. I'm happy to announce that Tyler Brothers, home of all things Carhartt, will be having a Black Friday Sale this year with an outrageously low price on a Carhartt Jacket and the Rocky MudSox Snake Boots. Please comment any that you've found:

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty. Book Review

2011-11-17T03:18:00.001-05:00

What Alice Forgot

Liane Moriarty

G. P. Putnam's Sons

What if you bumped your head and got a concussion and when you woke up all memories from the previous ten years were gone? Would the problems of the previous ten years also be gone?   What if you were at the place in life where you currently are, but you thought and felt like you did ten years ago: your opinion, perspective and view was that of ten years ago?

For Alice, this was true.......
  She awoke from her concussion convinced the year was 1998 instead of 2008. Alice found her forty year old self to be quite a different and unappealing woman than her thirty year old self.   Alice was unpleasantly shocked to meet the forty year old Alice.

As Alice's memories returned, could she change the person she had become?
Could you?

As I read this book, I was challenged to consider my own life in the previous decade and the changes I have made. Could I resurrect aspects of my life from ten years ago and if so, would it change my reality today?

I continue to think about this. Read the book, walk with Alice Love as she gets a second chance at life.

I've become a big Moriarty fan. I loved her previous book The Last Anniversary.   Go ahead and read that one, too!

Word Craft

2011-11-16T16:18:00.000-05:00

"When I arrived at nine in the morning, I found a low-ceilinged room that once had been a U.S. Navy vault. Its walls were covered with whiteboards and its center dominated by a large wooden table. I pulled up a chair and got out paper and pen. I joined a group that sat thinking and blurting out ideas, six of us trying to come up with a name for a new computer network. We hunkered around the table while a set of floor heaters crackled.

It was my first day as a freelance namer, and we were making up a word."

~ Word Craft: The Art of Turning Little Words Into Big Business,

Alex Frankel

Is that not absolutely awesome?!! A freelance namer! What a job! I want to make up words! I want to sit in a think tank with white boards and sharpies and giant pads on easels and make up words! I never knew such a job existed.

Sausage Velveeta Snack for Appetizers or Super Bowl Party

2011-11-15T21:18:00.005-05:00

In the rural farmland of upstate New York there lived two cousins who did everything together. Their houses were separated by an overgrown hay field in which they carved a trail that zig zagged among the milk weeds, a very sticky mess for two little tomboys.

These cousins grew up, moved away and lost touch for years only to find themselves living close again, for just a couple years, in New Jersey. It was during this short time together as young adults that Cousin A -- Julie -- gave Cousin B -- Me -- her top secret, highly favored, then un-named snack recipe.

It was love at first bite.

Shortly thereafter....
I named the recipe "Julie's High Fat Snacks." Original and quite revealing, I know.

I dug this recipe out for a football game party recently, had fond memories of my cousin Julie while I made the snacks and then decided to share the recipe for all.

1 lb ground beef, browned, drained
1 lb ground sausage, browned, drained
1 lb Velveeta cheese, cut up
dash tobasco, salt and pepper
3/4 tsp. oregano

Mix meat and cheese while meat is hot. Add spices. Spread mixture on fancy little bread squares or regular rye bread cut in half. Set these on cookie sheets. Freeze. Store in ziplocs once frozen.

To eat: heat as many as you want at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Cleaning Your Cordless Phone: One Word of Caution

2011-11-15T02:18:00.015-05:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

Who knew I could get in trouble cleaning?

Here’s what happened. I noticed that our land line hand-held clunky phone was looking a bit gunky. Not just dusty, mind you. Real, honest to goodness gunk. Time to clean the the clunky gunk!

Side note, the AWESOME cleaner I’ve mentioned before is the best thing to use. It’s cheap [Dollar Tree cheap], it’s quick, it does not smell too gaggingly bad.

I had just finished up above cleaning when the phone rung, right in my hand! Surprise, surprise! It was a 911 operator! Gulp! Huh?.....

This is what my phone looks like:

Guess I cleaned that particular button a tad bit too hard, and accidentally made a 911 call. Imagine that? I then must have done a really quicky tricky move and disconnected the call as quick as I made it, ‘cause I had no clue a call had gone through.

But! Come to find out, the 911 operators follow up on all calls no matter what. That’s good to know.

The operator had no sense of humor, as it turns out. He didn’t seem to find my charming little explanation funny at all. I had the feeling he didn’t believe me! I felt like a kid caught making funny phone calls, like DO YOU HAVE PRINCE ALBERT IN THE CAN?

If you don’t know that that last sentence means, ask any senior citizen.

Come to think of it, maybe the 911 operator thought I was a senile senior citizen who should not have a phone anywhere within reach.

At least they didn’t arrive at my door, sirens blaring, to check me out. Or to confiscate my phone.

I just cannot clean it any more.

2011-11-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

dra`ma \ 1. a composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usu. involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance: PLAY - compare CLOSET DRAMA 2. dramatic art, literature, or affairs 3. a: a state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces b: dramatic state, effect, or quality.

Mother of the Groom

2011-11-11T02:18:00.007-05:00

Today is my big day as Mother of the Groom: Rehearsal Dinner. I was honored when the bride asked if I could make my stuffed shells for rehearsal dinner. I think it's the stuffed shells and my mother's chocolate chip cookies chiefly responsible for getting my son married off, finally getting Eden to say "I do."

Tommy and Eden have been dating since high school -- over 5 years of dating. And there were times I could understand Eden's hesitancy to make the lifetime commitment....

The two have been.....
almost always together for the five years. The few times Tommy went on vacation with us without Eden, his heart was still with her. On our long drive to NYC, I found him sketching Eden:

Lately I catch myself surprised when I see them, they are starting to look like adults instead of teenagers and I find life passing by so quickly.

What joy to see them creating a house, building a home, enjoying life.

Welcome to the family, Miss Wooten!

Take care of our Li'l Buddy.

Tips to Enjoy a Food Truck Lunch

2011-11-10T02:18:00.004-05:00

I've been eager to try out a "Food Truck" and today presented the best opportunity.

Food trucks are popular right now. I think it's a great idea -- food you love brought to a location near you and served like fast food. And with social media, it's actually a viable business option. The food trucks show up anywhere and everywhere. Social media enables them to get the word out. They can tweet and facebook where they are at what time of day and any followers who are hungry can show up and get their fill.

So I gave it a try.

I looked around Twitter to see where food trucks would be for a lunch hour in Columbia, SC....
It was difficult, they weren't as vocal as usual on this particular day. There's even a Twitter account for Columbia Food Trucks, but they hadn't tweeted anything since Oct. 4 and it was now Nov. 8.

I tweeted "Hello?? {tap, tap} Anybody there @CAEfoodTrucks?"
They responded: "@VSliker It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!"
Then they tweeted: "Hey @PFP_FoodTruck @NYFHD @AlfMob @artisanbbqtruck @2fat2fly - @vsliker is hungry! Where r u?"

OK, I can dig that. They know I'm hungry and they are searching for assistance from local food trucks.

By then, I had found a food truck on my own: 2Fat2Fly stuffed chicken wings food truck.

I know, right? Stuffed chicken wings???

What the world?

They were serving chicken wings stuffed with either Turkey Dressing, Mac-n-Cheese, Jalapeno-n-Bacon, or Parmesan. I got the turkey dressing and mac-n-cheese ones. The Turkey dressing was pretty good, the mac-n-cheese was kind of bland. But really, I just wanted to know: how do they stuff those things??

It was not a great experience. It was 4 of us for lunch. We had no place to sit and eat since the food truck met on the side of the highway. The food truck was down to only 2 kinds of drinks: Sierra Mist and Orange Crush. Nothing else. (It was only 12:20pm)

Next to the highway was a railroad track. Three times, people, THREE times a train came by and tooted it's madly loud horn. And the other noise preventing any good lunch conversation belonged to the Food Truck's generator.

So...we were sitting on a truck tailgate, trying to visit while eating, sitting next to a loud generator with cars going by at 50 mph and a train every 15 minutes or so. It was not pleasant. In fact, I think my words were "I'll never do this again." To which, everyone responded, "What?"

I spoke too harsh.

I will do it again.

But... on my next visit to a food truck.... I will:

Take the food to a nearby park or pleasant eating area
Unfold lawn chairs from my trunk and get comfortable
Have my own drink in a cooler

Read more about Food Trucks utilizing social media.

Billy Joel’s 40-Year Solo Career Commemoration CD Special Releases

2011-11-08T13:18:00.002-05:00

Available TODAY!! November 8, 2011

Columbia/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, is commemorating 40 years of Billy Joel’s career as a solo recording artist with a pair of historic releases:

A limited edition Billy Joel - The Complete Albums Collection 15 cd boxed set an
A 2-disc Legacy Edition Piano Man, Joel's debut album.

Sony has sent me one copy of the 2-disc Legacy Edition to review and one copy to Give Away!

Find details on how to win this 2-disc Legacy Edition -- which includes the previously unreleased legacy concert held live at Sigma Sound Studios in '72 -- at the bottom of this post.

That's right, the much cited WMMR live studio concert at Sigma Sound Studios with Ed Sciaky from April 15, 1972, 19 months before Billy Joel signed with Columbia Records and launched his career has just now been released for the very first time.
This previously unreleased set has rocked my world this week.

When I popped this cd into my car stereo.....
and heard the fairly unknown William Martin Joel in a small studio talking, singing and joking with the live audience, humbly performing his now-famous songs with banjos, dobros, fiddles and harmonica, and telling his background stories in his young voice, I felt like it was just him and me, jamming in my living room. I listened as he "introduced" these "new" songs that I've been listening to for 35 years. I felt like he was right there playing for me and nervously asking me, "Hey, do you think this will be a hit?"

If you're a Billy Joel fan, you need to hear this Sigma Sounds Studios Performance. You'll get chills as you hear Joel's mind rambling as he navigates entertaining the live audience, the taped version and the radio audience. And then he jokes, "We're making the Best of Billy Joel album" when at that point, there were no successful Billy Joel albums.

When I got home, I had my husband and two friends join me on the back patio after dark with dim lighting and cricket noises and I played the Sigma Sounds disc for them. That's how special it is. You need a proper setting in which to hear it. Then hear it again. And again. The third time I heard it, I was driven to go find the original Piano Man record in our record collection:

Our old vinyl albums along with our old cassettes are taking a beating these days. I was astounded to find only three Billy Joel original albums, we've been robbed!!!

We have the Piano Man on cassette and of course on cd, but I was disappointed not to find the record album. After Piano Man, Joel skyrocketed into the “sensitive singer-songwriters" category with Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Elton John. All of which I am a student. 35 years later, these guys are still on the top of my playlist, they are pure genius.

Columbia Records released Joel's debut album Piano Man on November 9, 1973. Today they are releasing this 2-disc Legacy Edition of Piano Man which includes the 10-song original album in its entirety, re-mastered for this release in addition to a second disc premiering the first-ever release of Billy's mythic performance at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studio, which I described above. It contains 3 Billy Joel songs -- "Long, Long Time," "Josephine" and "Rosalinda" -- which do not appear on any other albums. It also contains 9 other songs you are very familiar with, including "Captain Jack" and "The Ballad of Billy the Kid."

To Win your own 2-disc Legacy Edition Piano Man, leave a comment here as well as emailing a comment to PlanetPookie@yahoo.com so I can have an email address to notify the winner. The email address will not be and never will be used for anything else.Winner will be chosen Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011.

Go to BillyJoel.com to purchase this 2-disc set or the 15-disc Complete Album Collection boxed set.

You can preview and purchase the songs at Amazon on this affiliate link:

Disclosure: I received my own copy of the Legacy Edition Piano Man in exchange for this review. No other compensation was received. If you purchase through my Amazon link, I receive a few pennies or something on my Affiliate Acct.

Best Ham Bone Soup

2011-11-08T05:18:00.002-05:00

I got a lot of compliments on my ham bone soup this weekend and I'm thinking it could.... just might be... because I used a Honeybaked Ham ham bone. But anyway, you could try it with any ham bone.

2 boxes Swansen chicken broth
1 Honeybaked Ham bone with a few handfuls of meat still on it
5 Tbsp. onion flakes
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 can red kidney beans, drained

Bring to a boil, turn down low and simmer for 7 hours or so. Make sure all the meat is off the bone, then remove the bone carefully. It might fall into a few pieces, so search carefully to remove it all.

Do not add any salt. The ham should be salty enough.
Good additions: stewed tomatoes or chunks of potatoes

Spark an Idea

2011-11-07T04:18:00.002-05:00

I found Daniel Pink's trip to the Idea Store really interesting. I wasn't sure the idea he purchased was worth what he paid (2 cents), but I have high hopes for other purchases and selling my own ideas.

Everyday People

2011-11-05T02:18:00.000-04:00

My internet service was down one day this week so I found myself with several hours in which I couldn't do most of my work. I decided to use the time to organize the files and folders on my computer. When I got to the photo files.... well.... you know what happened. I got distracted.

But looking over all the photos made me realize how much I love the people in my life. So I gathered the avi files and made this little video. I was limited to the movie clips I had available, so many of you may not be featured. But I still love you.

The Great Pumpkin

2011-11-04T02:18:00.005-04:00

My pumpkin post is a little late this year. I thought it would make a nice Flashback Friday.
I love American traditions -- Easter baskets and sunrise services, Mother's day brunches or banquets, apple festivals, pumpkin picking and carving.... I love how all across the country you can find people doing these same activities around the same time of year.

"That stupid blockhead of a brother of mine is out in the pumpkin patch making his yearly fool of himself." - Lucy Van Pelt

(pictured: Tommy, circa 1999)

Picking your pumpkin is a very difficult decision, not to be made in haste.

One must examine every detail, size it up, look for imperfections....

(pictured: Jerry, circa 1999)

Bringing that baby home, laying it out on a sheet and slicing it artistically requires focus.

(Pictured: Patti, Jerry, Uncle Steve {world's greatest uncle}, Tommy and Brian)

Scooping all the gunk out was my least favorite part. That was nasty. We cooked the pumpkin seeds a few times, throwing them out a few days later. Here's Tom and Patti when she was about 2 or 3:

Fall activities in SC (better late than never?)

What did you carve in your pumpkin?

Funny Baptisms

2011-11-03T02:18:00.001-04:00

I found this cute video on GodTube. My fave is the third one in.

I removed the video from this blog because it automatically played each time my site was opened. Here's the link: Funny Baptisms if you want to view the video.

Spicy Boiled Peanuts

2011-11-01T03:18:00.003-04:00

Some girls and I went to Tampa FL to see an old friend and her truck, Big Reba.

After a must-do sunset dinner on the St. Pete beach at Crabby Bill's, we were ready for Charann's the next evening. Well, I was ready; they had never been there.

I went for the spicy boiled peanuts and the philly cheese steak. These things are to die for. My friends agreed.

Eventually, I came home, settled back into my routine and found myself staring a Saturday night college football game in the face. What to serve for our football party? Think... think... You know it -- spicy boiled peanuts.

And here, my friend, in the spirit of generosity I am known for, is my recipe:

Toss 2 20 oz. bags of raw peanuts (in the shell) in a large crock pot.
Cover with water.
Mix in 1/2 c salt.
Mix in one whole entire container (2 oz) of red pepper flakes. I know.... but do it.
Turn crockpot on high.
Cook/simmer/stir occasionally and add water as needed for at least 10 hours.

Have your iced sweet tea handy,

you're gonna need it.

Trick or Treat?

2011-10-31T21:18:00.001-04:00

Today? At my mailbox? It most definitely was a treat!!

I received a treat from the folks at Sony Music and guess what? They threw in a treat for you, as well! I have a nice surprise for one lucky reader as soon as I can put my post together. Sony has invited me to participate in a project to commemorate 40 years of Billy Joel's career as a solo recording artist.

..... more to come!

Happy Halloween: May Your Costume Be Better Than Mine

2011-10-31T04:18:00.005-04:00

Happy ~~Halloween... Errrr.~~.. Fall Festival!

Tom and I are not dressing up this year, so if you see us, don't comment on our scary look.

We were The Lone Ranger and Tonto on the last Halloween in which we costumized. I think we went out on a bang.

I'm too frugal to purchase or rent costumes, much to the chagrin of my children when they were young. We always had to make a costume from ~~crap~~ ~~stuff~~ treasures we had around the house.

Like this lovely ensemble:

Don't they look thrilled?
But it was better than the year....
we made Patti become a "TV." A big old cardboard box with the "screen" cut out so her face was the featured show. I thought it was like a news program or a weatherman. Tom even had an old electric TV cord coming out the back. I made him tape up the prongs on the end with duct tape so nobody would try to plug her in.

This photo is of me and Tom on our very first Halloween together. Again, not too shabby, huh? It kinda scared me they way he enjoyed being a female. But I still married him.

Crappy Costumes are in my genes. No, I mean homemade costumes are in my genes. My parents did a better job of it than I. One year, as a kid, I was a mummy in a coffin. The costume looked great, no doubt, but it meant I had to lie still all night long and I totally missed the party except when someone would come over and poke me and say, "Wow, that looks real." or "Is someone in there? For real?"

My sister, though, she had a great time at the party -- she was an apple tree. Brown leotards, green billowy blouse with apples hanging by strings from her arms. Now that was a hoot.

What were some of your costumes?

Freeze Milk and Cut Cost, Thaw it Properly

2011-10-30T04:18:00.010-04:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

The cheapest way to buy milk is by the gallon. Why is a gallon of milk $2.59 and a half gallon is $1.87? So I buy the gallon, but there is no way we can use up a whole gallon of milk before it starts to get that quirky chunky consistency. Bleecccchhhh!

However, you can freeze milk! Didn’t know that, did ya? I bought several of these super sturdy Rubbermaid containers to do just that.

These bottles are very thick and won’t get brittle in the freezer. Coming from these, the thawed milk tastes great. There’s the catch however: thawing the milk......

You’d be amazed at how LONG it takes for a bottle of milk to thaw. Ideally, it should be thawed in the fridge.

How long will it take to thaw? A whole lot longer than you think! If you will need milk on, say, Thursday, start thawing on Monday. The bottle will look thawed quicker than that, but that’s just the outer edges. Takes forever for the whole thing to turn back to liquid! .By the way, it’s a good idea to put the bottle in a shallow bowl to catch all the condensation while thawing. When thawed, give the bottle a good shake and you’re good to go.

So plan ahead.
Plan WAY ahead.

I don’t recommend thawing milk on the counter. The fact that I have a bottle sitting on my counter this very minute is none of your business!

One more thing! Be sure to leave lots and lots of headroom in the bottle before freezing. Frozen liquids e-x-p-a-n-d and even if your container is a good quality one like these bottles, the lid can be forced open, even ever so slightly. And then what? Frozen milk puddles in your freezer, and ain’t that fun? And since the only freezer we have is the small one over the fridge, I have to lay the bottles down to freeze. Yike!

Which leads to picture #2:

Yup, I wrap the bottle in one of my handy dandy saved bread bags before I freeze it. If anything should ooze out in the freezing process, the mess is contained. Neat, huh? Looks extremely dumb but I sure hate cleaning up frozen milk puddles.

A Most Spectacular Moment in Parenting

2011-10-28T03:18:00.019-04:00

My son Tommy was born a Mack Truck. Stocky, thick, solid, a Bulldog. He seemed to "plow through" rather than crawl.

As soon as he could walk good, he would run through a room and have everyone on the outskirts of the room throw pillows at him to try to knock him down. He loved this. As he got older, he lost the Mack Truck look and became one of the smaller guys in the class, a serious drawback to his football dreams.

One thing he hated, as you might expect of someone built like this and boyish is so many ways, was church clothes......

He hated to dress up, still does. You'll find him these days in t-shirt and shorts, or if he's at work, t-shirt and jeans.

Back in 5th or 6th grade, I got a call from the school. My kids were enrolled in a private school, a 30-minute drive each way. I carpooled, so I only had to make the drive one time each day.

On this particular day, I took them to school, hit the gym and McDonald's and was home by 10:00 or so. Around noon I received a call at work. In a very clipped, controlled voice, the school secretary said, "Mrs. S, Tommy has fallen in the mud at recess and will require a change of clothes if he is to stay in school today."

Seriously? Too muddy to stay in school? I asked how it happened. She said there was a (singular) mud puddle on the basketball court. He fell in it and apparently rolled around in it, much to the amusement of all the other kids.

I see.

I was annoyed. He pulls a class clown bit and I'm the one who gets inconvenienced?

Suddenly I knew exactly what to do.

I went up to his room, packed up a change of clothes and drove the 30-minute drive to school. I went in the front door, followed the mud tracks to the principal's office and found Tommy sitting there in a pile of mud crumbs.

You should have seen his cocky mud-caked smile turn into a look of abject horror when I pulled out his church clothes. He could spend the rest of the day in a button-up shirt, dress pants and dress shoes.

Pictured below:

Dad in the back apparently cooking out

Tommy the Mack on the left, Patti, Brian, Jerrry.

Not Once Did I Fold

2011-10-26T03:18:00.007-04:00

I hear the train all night, sound of its wind blowing through
A subtle lapse… and I have a job to do

Walking these cars walking all to sleep, to get to you
But I don’t feel you stir beside me, and you’re not in my morning hours

Some ties are made to break; some stocks grow high and green to rot away and feel the weight
And these lines tell the truth, these city veins answer all they do
So, could you keep in the poses, could you keep me in the sound
I got wise and I got old
Not once, not once did I fold
So don’t you now
Maybe you bet on me, while we were still young enough to know, to believe

But for every year you took, for every soft breath of love and learn, believe me
And don’t keep me like you have me, and don’t kiss me like you don’t
I got wise and I got old
Not once, not once did I fold
So don’t you now
Some land holds a home; some of my years only hold, me to roam
But I tell myself its true, you see a home you see a man, you see it too

And I say don’t you know you have her? Go on kiss her now you boy
I got wise and I got old
Not once, not once did I fold
So don’t you now......

Blind Pilot

GiGi's Cupcakes, Tampa FL, Cupcake Review

2011-10-25T04:18:00.003-04:00

The Place: Gigi's Cupcakes, 3810 Neptune St, B-2

The Flavors: Amaretto Amore, Banana Cream Pie, Champagne, Carrot Cake, Miss Princess and White Midnight Magic Choc. Chip.

The Conclusion: This place has mountains of icing and beautiful, crazy-flavored cupcakes. Try the Amaretto Amore. Buy the Banana Cream Pie ones in bulk.

The Drawback: Gigi's is a chain, a franchise. I prefer to support mom and pop shops like Frostings, just a couple miles over.

You might go to Gigi's Cupcakes if you are on a Girls Day Out. Or if you're running with a pack of bridesmaids. Or if you're a princess. Definitely if you're a princess. Gigi's is very girly.

On a recent trip to Tampa, two girlfriends and I came right up to the edge of a sugar coma and teetered there for a minute. One step further was the point of no return; one more cupcake test, we'd be in shock.

Leaving St. Pete on 275-N, bound for the midlands of SC, we exited on Kennedy and flew down Dale Mabry , hitting the brakes for a hard right on Neptune. And there she was – Gigi's Cupcakes. In all her Girly Girl splendor. Cute mugs, cute T's, cute necklaces. Sparkly cupcakes, pink ruffly icing, a pearly white cupcake with the word “wedding” in the title. The stuff that ends with "and they lived happily ever after."

I plopped my debit card down and ordered ~~a round for the house~~ a Princess cupcake with pink sparkles and a crown to carry home to my 6 year old granddaughter and her princessy self. I got her a cupcake necklace to match and got myself a white Midnight Magic cupcake with frothy white icing scattered with tiny little chocolate chips. The cake was very moist, the icing, creamy. Creamy and dreamy. The whole thing was rich enough to curl my teeth and cause me to leave some of it uneaten, even after my friends each had a bite.

Next we sampled Connie's Amaretto Amore (Pictured below with most of the cake cut off). Creamy amaretto cream cheese icing littered with slivered almonds. I don't like crunchy and creamy together, so I wasn't fond, but the girls loved this cupcake. Connie took two bites, slammed her hands down with a long moan and went back to order 4 more to take home, three of which survived the drive.

Jennifer let us sample her champagne cupcake. White champagne cake with cream cheese icing, edible pearls (insert girly squeal here), and white chocolate. Moist and creamy, but still... not our favorite. She returned to buy a Banana Cream Pie cupcake to take home. Home, by the way, was an 8.5 hour drive away. We kept the car chilled to a nipper 62 degrees and covered up with wraps, scarves and blankets. Anything to preserve the cupcakes. Below? Yeah, our "to-go" order.

Around hour #5 of driving, we dipped our fingers in the Banana Cream Pie cupcake icing (a buttercream frosting) and nearly fainted. “Why the heck didn't I get that one?” I screamed. That icing tasted exactly like banana pudding. Note to self: Get the Banana Cream Pie cupcake no matter how stuffed you are.

Also around hour 5 of driving, we decided to eat Connie's Carrot Cake cupcake. I gagged. Lumps and chunks throughout, ugh. Strings of coconut hanging out, stings of carrot and chunks of pecan. I let the girls finish it. Connie said it's OK, but the icing was the best part. Jenn shook her head, “No, the cake is better than the icing.” Neither one would order it again.

We managed to get home without touching the Princess' cupcake. Miss Princess is a white cake with strawberries baked in, cream cheese frosting with pink sparkly sugar on top and a fondant crown. My Princess said it was wonderful, she loved it and I did not get a sample, not even a crumb.

I wish I had tried the Strawberry Shortcake and I wish they had served their Raspberries & Cream cupcake – white cake with a raspberry filling, raspberry buttercream frosting sprinkled with white nonperils and topped with a white chocolate heart. That's scheduled for Wednesdays, I was there on a Monday. Road trip, anyone?

Click here to see Gigi's full flavor menu.
Click here to find a Gigi's near you.
Www.GigisCupcakesUSA.com
You can find a location near you on Facebook, as well.

You Can Call Me Alice

2011-10-23T04:18:00.005-04:00

I just love mushrooms. Growing out in the wild, that is, not... say... on my pizza or in my soup or anything like that. I don't eat them, I just think they are beautiful. (Remember the orange mushroom I found in Alaska?!) So the other day when I spotted some growing recklessly in town, I had to pull over and get some photos.

It was like my own little piece of Wonderland.

". . . In a minute or two the Caterpillar took the hookah out of its mouth and yawned once or twice, and shook itself. Then it got down off the mushroom, and crawled away in the grass, merely remarking as it went, 'One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter.'

'One side of what? The other side of what?' thought Alice to herself.

'Of the mushroom,' said the Caterpillar, just as if she had asked it aloud; and in another moment it was out of sight.
Alice remained looking thoughtfully at the mushroom for a minute, trying to make out which were the two sides of it; and as it was perfectly round, she found this a very difficult question. However, at last she stretched her arms round it as far as they would go, and broke off a bit of the edge with each hand.
'And now which is which?' she said to herself, and nibbled a little of the right-hand bit to try the effect . . ."

Women of Faith Imagine 2011

2011-10-20T09:18:00.005-04:00

The magnificent Luci Swindoll summarized the Women of Faith Imagine conference this way:

the Women of Faith Imagine conference is intended for connection and encouragement of women of faith.

That is precisely what I got out of it.

It's a great place to go when your spirit is starting to droop and you need refreshment, encouragement.... sustenance. It's a great place to go when you feel lonely, all alone in your walk of faith or outnumbered in the secular world.

The Women of Faith conference is the place to go when you're going through a really difficult time and can't imagine how you're going to get through it. Coincidence that the conference title this year is "Imagine?" I think not. You'll hear testimonies of hope, endurance, grace, mercy, forgiveness, healing, restoration... You'll find empathy, direction, advice and community.....

Natalie Grant, pictured above, leading us in amazing worship.

I'd guess 50,000 women were there singing A Capella It is Well. Boy, if that doesn't pull you out of a spiritual funk, I don't know what will.

The Friday sessions with Sheila Walsh and Dr. Henry Cloud were what I'd call "the meat of the matter." We dug deep in these sessions. At my stage in my walk with Christ, I appreciated these sessions more than the Saturday sessions. The Saturday sessions were mostly testimonies. The Saturday sessions spoke about renewing your commitment, keeping the faith, and finding peace in difficult times. I found great encouragement in these sessions for a particularly hard time I am going through. I felt my spine strengthen & lengthen. My resolve to continue believing God's promises grew in these sessions.

Sheila started Saturday challenging us to search the scriptures and find the promises that are absolutely true, always -- no matter what -- not the seasonal, contextual promises. John 16:33 for instance is one of these promises. Memorize these, she encouraged, and cling to them for life. They are the basics that will get you through when you hit rock bottom. Then she shared yet another time that she has hit rock bottom. That girl has hit rock bottom more than anyone I know. She shares how she always bounces back: by spending time at the feet of Jesus.

The Women of Faith conference ticket is quite pricey for many people, yet typical fare for a "conference" -- $99. for a two day conference. It does come with a free box lunch both days. The conference can be crowded, it's hard to find a place to sit and eat. Women were sitting on the ground all around the St. Pete Times Forum. We ended up eating our picnic under the freeway.

The Imagine conference I attended in Tampa, FL was held on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. Words cannot express what it was like as Angie Smith asked women to stand if they had lost a child either before or after birth. Women all around the arena stood, many sobbing. What an honor to look around and pray over these women who so often are told to "get over it" or "you can have more children." Natalie Grant later sang her song "Held" which also spoke to this very issue. Angie spoke about losing one of her children soon after birth and how this is yet another wound the Master Healer can mend.

After the heaviness of the morning sessions, Luci Swindoll took the floor as only she can and perked us up a bit reminding us to celebrate life, to "live in the now." "We've forgotten how to be happy," she began, "We always want something else." Luci challenged us to do something for our souls each and every day. "In our busy-ness," she said, "We forget to be soul-ish."

Citing I Timothy 6:17, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

Luci pointed out that this verse doesn't end with "who richly provides us everything for us to achieve" or "for us to acquire" or "to buy" or even "to correct." God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

With a big hearty laugh, Luci asked us "What turns your joy crank? Art? Music? Literature? Friends? Family? Laughter?" Where does she get this great attitude from? I loved hearing Luci describe how her grandmother would often say, "Today is wasted if we do not just fall over in a heap laughing."
That sure explains a lot about both Luci and Chuck Swindoll!

Luci ended sounding a bit like Dr. Seuss:

"You just step out and try it, it is amazing what you can do! Be you. Be now. Do it and you'll have a great time!"

Oh man, I love me some Luci Swindoll.

If you go to a conference (and I strongly recommend you do), wear layers. They can't control the temp in these arenas and if they could, nobody would agree on what is hot and what is cold. If you forget this important advice, they do sell blankets and wraps. I was glad to see the merchandising had lessened since my last Women of Faith conference. Each speaker and musician sells some product, but it's not much.

I was disappointed in two ways with the Women of Faith Conference. 1. Mary Mary didn't attend. They told me personally via twitter (@therealMaryMary) that they had a previous engagement. It was a nice surprise, however, to see Nicole C. Mullins in their place. 2. An illusionist performed at one point. And I thought: Wha??? Really? The illusionist bit seemed a little out of place here and I wondered if he stepped in last minute to fill in for a no-show.

Also? Comedian Ken Davis showed up and absolutely cracked us up. He was hilarious. I can't wait for him to come to a city near me, I'll take a whole bunch of friends!

The Women of Faith conference gave me two tickets to this conference in exchange for my review. I have attended this conference 3-4 times in the past and have always come out stronger in faith. The corporate worship and female encouragement is well worth the price of the ticket.

Follow Women of Faith on Facebook to keep up to date on events.

No Fear: The Valley of the Shadow of Death

2011-10-19T03:35:00.000-04:00

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.Psalm 23:4

One year ago, right about now, Nana took that walk.

I was just awakened -- nearly 3 a.m. -- looked at the clock. My heart sunk as I thought of Nana in her bed at this hour one year ago. Then the words of David in Psalm 23 washed over me like a warm incoming tide.

Nana wasn't alone that dark night. As lonely as we may imagine it, she wasn't alone. Jesus didn't leave her comfortless her whole life, I know He wouldn't have left her comfortless that final night.

Tasty Tuesday Isn't Just for Humans

2011-10-18T04:18:00.000-04:00

For today's Tasty Tuesday, I'm gonna share Connie's very special recipe for feeding the seagulls.
Enjoy!

Frostings, Etc. Tampa, FL Cupcake Review

2011-10-15T23:36:00.003-04:00

The Place: Frostings, Etc. 500 South Howard Ave. Ste. F, Tampa FL 33606

The Flavors: Champagne Pear Bellini, Death By Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Red Velvet

The Drawback: Parking. Almost impossible.

The Conclusion: Buy the cookie dough icing in to-go containers and use at home. Liberally. Do the shots. Get the Champagne Pear Bellini, maybe 2.

I was given a couple tickets to a women's conference in Tampa FL and asked to review it on my blog. So it was that I found myself wandering around Tampa with a couple girlfriends. With you, my hungry reader, in mind, I decided to visit a few cupcake shops. And my friends -- well, they were eager to help in any way they could. Selfless friends that they are.....

We drove into the SoHo neighborhood, circled a few times looking for a parking spot and entered Frostings, Etc. Joe Barbato, co-owner, brought us our cupcakes, plus a few extras on the house, plopped cupcake headbands on our heads and sat down to have a chat.

Joe, originally from Connecticut, opened the shop about three years ago with Sharon Tabasco, a Jersey girl. He rubbed it in how we missed out on the morning's flavors: Banana Dream, Chocolate Guinness Beer, Oreo Cookie Cream. These sold out early. But Champagne Pear Bellini, he said, he had in minis and he set a few in front of us. Wow. Refreshing, light cream cheese based icing.... chunks of pear in the cupcake.... these were excellent served chilled.

Our absolute favorite was the chocolate chip cookie dough pictured above. I've been to a lot of cupcake shops and I've never.... NEVER had one this good. Carefully getting both cake and icing in a forkful, (seriously,that detail is crucial) Connie moaned, "That's insane." I begged Joe for some baking hints on this baby. "It's mostly in the mixing," he admitted. "It has to be mixed precisely the right amount of time. If Sharon gets sidetracked and mixes it wrong, it's ruined." What I did find out: The icing is pretty much pure dough without eggs. The cake was mostly vanilla, but I tasted a spice or two, maybe nutmeg?

The chocolate chip cookie dough icing is so good, they sell it to-go, cakeless. You can get a "shot" for just 75 cents. I know, right?! Icing shots!! Who knew?? You can get a larger tub as well. If I lived here? I'd make my own cupcakes and purchase the tub of icing with which to frost my cupcakes, plus a shot for myself.

We also tried Death by Chocolate and Traditional Red Velvet, both of which were fabulous. The icing on Death by Chocolate was a mousse type icing... light... frothy. The cake had a surprise in the middle, very yummy. It was not as sweet as it's peer at Cupcake in Columbia, SC, our usual cupcake shop. Jen preferred this one over the cookie dough, admitting, "It'd be better if it was chilled. The icing needs to be served cold."

Upon a second visit, Connie and I will get the chocolate chip cookie dough while Jen will stick with the Death by Chocolate. Poor Red Velvet, she's so yesterday.

Catch Frostings, Etc on Facebook for daily specials. Here's some more of my Cupcake Reviews.

Practical Household Hints From a Life Well Lived

2011-10-15T03:18:00.006-04:00

Guest Writer: Ruth Morse

I think you can safely say that I am not a glass-half-full type of person. I like to think of my mindset as REALISTIC or PRACTICAL. However, other people might label it NEGATIVE.

Be that as it may, I have a few negative tips to pass on today. Following these negative tips bring positive results. So that's practical. Right?

•DON’T store your eggs on the refrigerator door. In fact, DON'T take them out of the carton! Just put the carton on one of the inner shelves, where temps are lower. You don't want salmonella as a house guest!

•DON’T put a crayon in the dryer......
I suppose no one would do that on purpose, but DON’T even do it accidentally! You will end up with a permanent strange mini-tie dyed effect on your clothes.

•DON’T burn colored newspapers or magazines in your fireplace. They contain lead and will emit dangerous levels of the lead. Yikes!

•DON’T rub in circles when cleaning a CD. Instead, rub a soft clean clothacross it to remove dust and fingerprints. And the strawberry jam.

•DON’T wash windows on a sunny day. They will dry too quickly and streak and you will be grumpy.

•DON’T ever put food in a naked crock-pot. What's a naked crock-pot? It is a slow cooker with no protection on it. I always give my stone liner a spritz or two of cooking spray before I put any food inside, even if it does not seem like the food will cause a sticking problem. Makes clean up so much easier! And I am much, much, much too cheapo to buy those crock pot liners. Knowing me, I would manage to rip the bag or drop the contents or burn it somehow. So I go the cheap route. I DON’T buy PAM brand cooking spray, by the way. The cheaper, store brands work just fine and are--guess what?---much cheaper! Cha-Ching!

•DON’T ever put a hot curling iron next to the TV remote. Yes indeedy, the remote will melt. I've done the research on this tip so learn from my expertise!

Ruth: Hey, Val, can I submit a voucher for a new remote?
Val: I DON’T think so!

-

Flashback Friday: Old Sheldon Church

2011-10-14T02:18:00.000-04:00

I mentioned the Old Sheldon Church previously this week, but today I want to use it for my Flashback Friday. This is a great place for photos. When I drove past with my mom and sister, I pulled over and introduced them to the ruins. I set the auto timer on my camera and got some fun photos.

. . . And then I dug up some old photos from previous visits with which to amuse you. Here's Tommy sitting on what I've always thought of as "the pulpit." It's probably a tombstone. BTW, Tommy is now 23. And no longer sporting a bowl cut.

And here's Marj, looking extraordinarily like me when I was that age.

Joy for Beginners, Erica Bauermeister

2011-10-13T04:18:00.002-04:00

Just listen to this:

"Daria oftened referred to her mother as the patron saint of perpetual disappointment. Daria envisioned her, arms outspread, welcoming the hordes of the ticked-off, the judgmental, the depressed, into her all-encompassing embrace, where she would teach them essential life skills such as how to take the silver lining out of clouds, or conjure flaws out of thin air."

Or this (spoken after a character finds the perfect house with the perfect porch):

"She wondered who the architect was who had first understood that basic human need to have a place, a moment, to pause before entering, to shift from the person you were outside to the one you would become when you walked through the door....... She hadn't gotten that, she thought, looking at the porch -- when Sean died, there had just been before the phone call and after. No illness, no aging. Just Sean and then no Sean. No porch to stand on, to get ready to go inside."

Oh my stars. Isn't that magnificent? That's why I read Erica Bauermeister.....
She makes my breath catch in my throat. I discovered this author with The School of Essential Ingredients. Read my review of that one here.

I absolutely can't wait for her to pen another one.
Read all about Joy for Beginners at EricaBauermeister/Joy.
And for Pete's sake, go read the book, then read Essential Ingredients.

Kid.... Dy-No-Mite!!

2011-10-12T01:18:00.001-04:00

You'll never guess who I found:

Don't recognize him?

Let me try another photo:

Kid Dy-No-Mite!!!

Who used to gather each week in the '70s to watch Good Times? I bet you are smiling as you read this, so many funny memories of Florida and James Walker trying to raise their kids with JJ "Kid DynoMite!" and his delusional big dreams. I saw Jimmie Walker recently on ABC's The View. His Good Times sister, Thelma, was with him. It was a very cool show that day.

More on Jimmie J.J. Walker:
Read his Bio - very interesting rise to fame for a high school drop out from the ghetto
Check his Schedule - find out where you can catch his act
Shop JJ - Get an autographed picture

Milk and Cookies by Tina Casaceli, a Very Tasty Tuesday Indeed

2011-10-11T05:18:00.029-04:00

Tina Casaceli, owner of Milk and Cookies Bakery in NYC has just published 89 of her famously yummy recipes for cookies, brownies, shortbreads . . .

These aren't sissy, frilly pretty cookies, these are down home good eatin' cookies. Casaceli has some specific instructions and precise measurements that she claims are the absolute key to the cookies. Don't go trying to swap things out or change things up.

Here's the recipe for a basic cookie dough. She's very stern about this recipe. But.... once you get this basic dough built..... she cuts you loose. Go hog wild with what you mix in the dough to personalize it -- candy, choc. covered pretzels, peppermints, dried fruit, spices, citrus zest, coconut flakes...... she offers amazing suggestions, but you, my friend, are given liberty to put anything you want in that sucker.

Basic Oatmeal-Vanilla Cookie Dough:
2 1/2 c old-fashioned rolled oats
2 c flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
1 c sugar
1 c light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp (details like that are important)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place oats in the bowl of a food processor with metal blade and process until finely ground. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Put butter in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle. Beat on low speed until soft, then increase speed to med. and beat until light & creamy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and then brown sugar, beating until very light & creamy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat to incorporate, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Beat in vanilla and when blended, slowly beat in the reserved dry mixture. Stop while dough is still streaky, and scrape it out onto a floured surface. Divide dough into 2 sections and gently knead each with your hands until just blended. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to three days (or freeze for up to a month). Take out 10 minutes before ready to bake.

To assemble and bake: Preheat oven to 350. Cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. For each cookie, take about a 1 1/2-inch ball of dough and knead in flavorings as desired. For nuts, fruits, adn candy, add what you like as long as there's enough dough to bind together the ingredients. For intensely flavored add-ins, like extracts, zests, salts, and spices, use a very small amount, less than 1/8 tsp. (See combination suggestions in the book)

Place cookies evenly on prepared sheets, giving each enough room to spread. Bake until center sets and cookies are lightly golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

I found a great read on Casaceli - Fabiana Santana's interview with Casaceli. Santana asked Tina what's the most inventive cookie she ever created. Tina's answer:

"We took the sugar cookie base dough added bananas, walnuts, caramel bits and dark chocolate and butterscotch chips. They were to die for. People still ask when we will make that special again."

Easy Canvas Prints For Your Special Photos

2011-10-10T01:18:00.010-04:00

The very efficient people over at Easy Canvas Prints offered me an 11x14 canvas print in exchange for my honest opinion of their product here on my blog. They were 100% positive that I would love my print.

They were right! Having just had a daughter get married, I knew exactly what photo to have done: a bridal portrait in which she looks like she's running for her life with a mischievous, conciliatory grin on her face.

Of course, now I want to turn all my favorite photos into canvas prints. The process was very simple:

Go to EasyCanvasPrint.com
Select your canvas size
Upload your image
Select border options
Add image & color effects if desired

Turn your photo into a canvas print.....
or buy a canvas print with their photo, they have some beautiful images to choose from.

Available off-line with a custom quote, multi-canvas collages look like an awesome way to display several photos in a grouping.

Some of the image effects include major/minor retouching, remove people from group (!!!???), oil painting effects, wrinkle removal ( I know, right?!) and many more.

The ordering process was simple and fast. The site has an excellent FAQ page and offers a great idea gallery to help you get your creative juices flowing.

Email notifications keep you informed on shipping status. Easy Canvas Prints has very fast service -- I received my print in just a few days with regular shipping.

You will be placed on their email mailing list with an easy opt-out, but you may not want to opt-out. My very first email was a 4 Hour (Awesome) Sale -- a 16 x 20 canvas print for only $39.99 and free shipping. (regularly $67 plus shipping)

Now I have to go back through my photos and select a few that I'd like to someday put on canvas print. I'll be ready for the next 4 Hour Sale!

The product in this review was given at no charge in exchange for my review.

Winner of Freschetta Pizza and Ear Buds Give Away

2011-10-09T17:02:00.002-04:00

I have used the Random Number Generator to pick a winner from the comments left on my Freschetta Pizza Give Away and the winner is.....

Comment #1 --

Heather!

Heather, send your mailing address to me......
at PlanetPookie@yahoo.com. I'll pass it on to the bloggers at Freschetta and they'll get your free pizza coupon and pink earbuds out to you soon.

Head on over to Freschetta and see how you can enter to win one of 50 iPod shuffles given away each week in October.

Freschetta is Proud to Support Pink for breast cancer awareness month. Click on that link and see how you can help them reach their goal of donating $50,000 for breast cancer research.

I Just Want To Take You Somewhere.... the latest song by Mirakolous

2011-10-09T08:15:00.000-04:00

My son is getting married in 4 weeks. His latest song reflects what he's been thinking about.

Women of Faith: Imagine

2011-10-08T02:18:00.004-04:00

Just a few more days until I head south with two great friends to soak in the wisdom, humor and truth that will be poured out lavishly at the Women of Faith Imagine conference in Tampa, FL. My soul feels it coming. My parched spirit begs for nourishment, can sense the refreshing, living water approaching.

Click to read: Why am I going?

In between two days of sessions and a little book shopping and eating, I hope to participate in a big Tweet Up and meet some of my great Tampa Twitter ladies, women of faith, you might call them.

If you will be in Tampa and want to join in a Tweet Up, let me know. Join my #WOFImagine Twitter List so we can keep in touch.

Let me leave you with this amazing line-up and Sheila's recent blogpost which starts out:

"I have realized that it is not possible to stink at prayer. It might feel that way to us at times but I believe that from God’s perspective, he gladly receives our words and he sees our hearts. Any prayer is a gift to him, for it means we are talking to him. We just have to take that first step—and begin embracing prayer as part of our daily lives, as vital to us as breathing....." read more here

Yeah.... next weekend I'm gonna be lapping at their feet.

You know it.

Daddies Get Nostalgic, Too

2011-10-07T03:18:00.009-04:00

It's not just Mamas that Get Nostalgic when their babies grow up, although I always thought it was.

Recently, as we proudly watched our son and his BFF work hard on the SC First Responder's Memorial, Tom (the daddy) admitted to me that

while we were watching the boys like this:

What he really saw was this:

Some things will never change.

I'm proud of you guys!